It's All on Me
by waiting4thefairytale
Summary: Sequel to 'What Happened to Being Human' Bella's finally living the fairytale. She has Sam,the Pack & her dad. But what happens when her career becomes more demanding? & a new vampire starts hanging around La Push? What is going to happen to Sam & Bella?
1. Chapter 1

I've become one of the most wanted writers for the music industry. Not every gets to say that but I do.

Ever since Sam sent in my songs to Pete for my birthday, I have become a hit. I have been working non-stop, creating new songs for artists who I could only have dreamed to meet. The downside to my job was working long hours, but I found that to be okay. Sam was busy running his pack, working at the station and dealing with Collin and Brady.

The two were still having a hard time dealing with their life change. I felt bad for them. They seemed really helpless and it was pushing them over the edge. One day, they came over to my house to talk with Sam. They must have not liked what they heard because the next thing I knew, my foyer contained two large wolves.

Sam barked for them to get outside while he glanced at the damage. Peeking my head in from the kitchen, I almost had a heart attack. The front of Charlie's house in shambles! Sam gave me a sad look and started shaking. Immediately I calmed him down.

"Its not your fault. Sam, its fine," I said rubbing up and down his arms.

"Charlie is going to kill us," he said sadly.

"No he isn't. Look, we can fix it okay? Its not a big deal." My brain was rationalizing it, but my stomach knew better. It was ready to lurch from my throat.

I let out a breath and looked to the door. That was ripped from the wall too. Both boys, who were in wolf form were standing outside waiting. I assumed they were commanded to stay there for punishment.

Giving me a kiss to the head, Sam trudged outside shaking like a leaf. I worried for the boys. They were having a hard time and Sam wasn't very well known to be sympathetic when it came this.

Running out, I halted in front of Sam before he could do or say anything to the boys.

"Just wait," I said as he opened his mouth in commanding question. I turned to the boys, but Sam reeled me back to him with his warm hand.

"What are you doing Bella. They aren't in control right now," he said in more of an Alpha tone than a loving one. I put a hand on his cheek. He needed to calm down.

"I know you. And how you have handled this so far…hasn't been the best," I said trying not to make him feel inferior. That would be the last thing I wanted to do. Especially when his wolf was touchy about this subject.

"I just want to talk to them before you start barking out their punishment. They are still human Sam, they are just mad right now."

"Bella, leave them be. This isn't something for you to handle. They need to learn phasing in someone's house isn't the right thing to do. Go back inside," he ordered. My jaw set. I was not one of his wolves.

"They didn't hurt anyone," I said in my calmest tone possible. A flash of worry crossed his eyes and I sighed.

"Sam," I said softly. I ran my hands over his tense shoulders. "I'm fine. They didn't hurt me or anyone else. Its okay."

"They could have," he said. "Now please go back inside," he said partially begging. I was torn. I could tell was fueled with anger, but it wasn't right to lash out on the boys because of it. Letting him have his ways, I glanced back at the boys and went back inside, kissing Sam's cheek on the way.

I watched from the window as Sam yelled at the two wolves. They seemed guilt ridden but as time passed and Sam continued to yell, they got angry. They snapped and growled which only egged Sam on even more. He banished them away from here to go do patrols.

As the two siblings left, Sam stayed outside for a while. I think he was trying to calm himself down so he wouldn't become a danger to me. I felt bad and partially guilty. He shouldn't be so worried about me. I was fine. Before I could go out to him, Charlie came home and looked at his house.

"What in god's name?" his voice rang out at the front door. I let out a wince and went to find him.

"Hey dad," I said uneasy.

"What the hell happened here Bella?" he asked looking at the house.

"Collin and Brady got upset and phased inside the house. Sam took care of them," I added before he could ask.

"What got them so mad?" he asked. "Who knows," I replied stepping over some chunks of wood. Charlie gave the house a pitiful look.

"They are just having a hard time dealing with their new lives dad. I don't blame them."

Charlie stayed quiet and went to step inside the kitchen with me. "So where is Sam now?" he huffed.

"Here sir," Sam said coming in the house to join us. "I'm sorry Charlie, I will pay to fix this. The boys just-"

"Its fine Sam," my dad said pretty chill. "Just make sure they get themselves under control. I don't need them getting upset when Bells is around."

I rolled my eyes and saw where Sam was getting some of his crazy paranoid thoughts.

"Dad that would never happen. The boys may lose control every now and then but they are cautious around me. Give them some credit."

"Bella, when they are hot headed like that, they don't care who is around. It could happen to anyone. Especially you. You spend a lot of time around those boys."

I went to rebut against my dad but Sam spoke up. "Your dad's right Bells, I can't let that happen."

"Sam," I groaned. Now wasn't the time to add his input. I turned back to my dad. "Stop getting Sam all worked up with those stupid rare possibilities dad. I will be fine, I trust Collin and Brady."

"Well Bella, I don't. And until they can get themselves under control, I don't want you to be near either one of them alone."

My eyes narrowed. "Don't even go there dad."

Charlie looked at me with as he went to the fridge to get a beer. Sam took a step towards me to come back me away. Slipping an arm around my waist, he pulled me towards him. Pushing his hand away, I continued to glare at my father.

"I'm going to say this once and only once," I said now looking at the two of them, "You are not the boss of me. I take care of myself. That is _**my**_ responsibility. You both, do not get to control who I see, when I see them, and where I see them. I live my own life."

"As long as you live under _**my**_ roof, you will live under _**my**_ rules," Charlie said in the same tone. Ever since my one lash out with him, he has become more boned about everything. He isn't as afraid to tread into those deep waters.

"Then I'll find somewhere else to live," I said being stubborn. I didn't care what it took to show them my point; they were not about to control me like that.

"Bella," Sam warned out carefully.

"I mean what I say." I said looking at the men. "Both of you don't get to dictate me like that. I get that you feel like you have to protect me and that you worry. I don't mind when you do that. But telling me what I can do and what I cant…I wont take that."

"They are dangerous Bella," My dad said. "They could kill you if they phased with you being too close."

"They would move away before that was to happen," I said confidently.

"You don't know that Bella," Sam said softly.

I shrugged. "I trust them, just like I trust the both of you."

"I'm not a threat to you Bella, I can control my anger. And you know when I don't, I leave," Sam said.

"And I don't phase anymore," Charlie said taking another swig of beer. I rolled my eyes. I didn't mean trust in that way.

"And as great as that is, both of you, I meant I trust you with my life. I trust the whole pack with my life- Collin and Brady included."

Charlie let out a breath. I had never felt so angry with the man than I had right now. How could he be so…infuriating?

"I'm sorry Bella, this is just how I feel. You are going to have to accept it," Charlie said with a given up look. I glanced to Sam and he nodded taking my dad's side.

Huffing, I went to leave. I hated when Sam did this. He never stood by me. It was always with someone else.

"Bella!" my dad called to me.

I put a hand up and shook my head. Forget about it.

Sam turned to stop me, but I could see it coming. "Don't even think about it Sam," I called behind me and then walked out the door.

I walked to the edge of the woods and hollered for Collin and Brady. Within a few minutes the wolves appeared. Immediately I heard feet running down the porch steps and towards me. "Sam you take two more steps and I swear you will regret it," I warned to him.

See, something I learned over the years I had been with him was that the imprint didn't have to be so black and white. I played things to my advantage, this time being one of them. If Sam didn't obey me, he would be in a week of hell. I would push the imprint to the limits of rejection. It hurt the both of us, but it was familiar. I knew the feeling from when it first happened.

The wolf cant live without the imprint. And when the imprint is ignoring the wolf and not considering him at all, then things get a little rough. The wolf will do anything to satisfy his imprint. Literally.

This sounds harsh, like I am being some unreasonable bitch, im not. Okay, I am pushing it with Sam, but I can't help it. Sam doesn't get it. All he sees is me. He sees a potential threat to his imprint and immediately has to fix it so im safe.

Sure the pull of his pack brings his mind reason, but he is so focused on the imprint that he can't get a full perspective. So that's where I come in. I step in when he becomes unreasonable. And with the effect I have on him, it brings me some leverage and power. Sam came to a halt and tried to reason with me.

"Bella please, I get what you are saying baby. But please Bella!" he said as I went over to Collin and Brady.

"Hey guys," I told the two wolves. They looked over at Sam with question. "Ignore him for right now," I said to them. Their attention went back to me.

"You know I trust you guys right?" I asked them. Slowly heir heads nodded up and down.

"I trust you with my life. And although many people have doubts in you, I trust you, with all of my heart," I admitted to them. "I know how worried Sam is about me-about you two phasing with me too close, but I want you to know, I don't think you guys would ever do that."

I knew Sam had it drilled in his head that one day the boys would be too close and hurt me. Charlie had the possibility burned into his thoughts. But I had complete faith in Collin and Brady even they didn't have it in themselves. They were being punished by not only by Sam, but Jake, Embry, and everyone else. Sam continuously put pressure on the two youngsters, which put everyone else in frenzy. It was time for me to end it. I was tired of everyone being so nervous around me.

"You guys are the youngest of the group. You don't deserve this pressure that you are getting from everyone. And im sorry for not stopping it earlier."

Brady tilted his head to the side. "You boys can do such great things with the abilities you have. But you doubt yourselves beyond reason, saying everyday how much you hate to be a wolf. I'll have you know, being a wolf can be great."

Collin let out a huff. I gave him a look. "You don't think so?"

He shook his big furry head and I shrugged. "Okay, well then maybe you should think back to how things used to be. I know you both used to get picked on at school for being scrawny kids. You want to go back to that? Because I know the wolf transformation helped you become built and buff."

Collin pulled a face. "And what about being a chick magnet? I hear Paul talk about it all of the time. With the way you guys all look, I know you get girls fawning over you quite often."

A blush was visible on Brady's cheeks. "You have brothers too. They may not always see things correctly, but they have your back. They will be there for you thick and thin. They will always be there when things get rough."

I looked back at Sam and saw him standing there quietly. "And you have us. Sam and I will always be there. I know you look up to him as a father figure. I can see it whenever you guys are around. I want you to both see that we will always be there, especially me. I am to here for you all of the time- day or night, 24/7. I'm making it my job to butt into the pack's business, meaning yours," I smiled. "I love you guys like you are my brothers. And I want you to know that."

Brady stepped closer to me and touched my chin with his nuzzle.

"I'm here for you too Collin," I said when I noticed he was just looking at me. "I'm not leaving you out to dry. I don't care what anyone says, I'll be here."

Collin sat down staring at me. Slowly, I went closer to him. He leaned his head down looking at me more closely. Bringing my hand up, I kissed his nuzzle and smiled at him.

"Always," I repeated in a hushed tone. His form started to shrink and a naked Collin was in front of me.

"Hey, welcome back," I smiled. He gave me a small blush. "I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean to make everyone upset."

"You didn't make anyone upset except yourself," I told him sympathetically.

"You boys okay now?" I asked to now both a naked Brady and Collin. They both nodded.

"Good cause its time for you to put some clothes on," I joked as I went to go get Sam. Immediately they were hit with shorts in the face.

"Be nice," I warned to Sam as I came to kiss him.

"I love you," he murmured to me softly. "And I always love you," I said right back. Giving him a quick kiss, I waited for the boys to change so we could face the world together.

_**A/N: how do you like the sequel so far? Let me know!**_


	2. Chapter 2

We were all supposed to meet at the Black's house for a 'family' dinner, so together Sam, Brady, Collin, and I headed over there. As Sam drove, I turned and gave the boys in the back an encouraging look.

For weeks now both Brady and Collin have been pretty pushed down on. The guys kept giving them a hard time, especially the more they acted out. So when we got there, everyone was a bit surprised to see the two boys along side me.

"Get away from her," Jake growled out. I narrowed my eyes at Jake and stopped Collin and Brady from moving away from me.

"Jacob Black, you better change your tone right now," I growled at him. That was something I picked up from Sam. I found that I had become a lot more commanding towards everyone. Sam, along with the elders, thinks that it's because I am the alphas mate. Lucky for them, when I give them an order, they actually chose to obey it instead of being forced to.

"Bella they are dangerous," he gritted out to me as he tried to not snap at me.

"So are you," I countered back.

"Sam tell her!" Jake practically yelled. Sam gave him a pitiful look. I already threatened Sam. If he took their side, he knew how the rest of the week was going to turn out.

"Isabella Marie Swan, get away from those boys right now," Charlie yelled out as he walked out of the Black house. Brady and Collin bowed their head like they were shunned. Taking a step forward, I protected the two like they were my own.

Billy came rolling out trying to get Charlie to see everything was okay. Jake kept trying to talk to me. I could feel how nervous and helpless Sam felt. Embry then pitched in with some words to try and convince me to step away. Paul and Jared were yelling at Collin and Brady for being 'stupid' by standing by me. I couldn't take all of the commotion.

"All of you, enough!" I yelled out. Immediately everyone froze.

"Collin and Brady are fine by me. Do you hear me?" I asked in a cold tone. "I am sick of all of you acting like they are offensive to this pack. We are a family, and a family sticks by each other. Show some respect," I yelled at them.

I then turned to my angry father. "Dad, where the hell do you get off by commanding them to stay away from me? Where the hell do you even think you can use your power over Sam to tell him the boys are a danger to me?"

I turned to look at everyone livid. "I am sick of all of you! Look how you are acting- trying to dictate my life and badger your pack brothers. I can live my life however I chose. Stop acting like a bunch of paranoid, overgrown little boys and get over yourselves."

They all looked at me a bit shocked.

"Just back away from her man," Quil said nicely to the twins.

This started up Jake again.

"Jake! Enough!" I yelled exasperated as he went on his tirade again. "I don't need your protection. They are your brothers for god sakes!"

"They could hurt you Bella!" he said pointing to them.

"And god damn it, so could you! Look at you right now! You are shaking like a leaf. And do you see them?" I said turning to Collin and Brady. "They are standing here not even looking like they are about to phase. Stop harassing them, and look at yourself."

Jake looked at his hands and slowly calmed himself down. Looking at all the boys, including Charlie, I raised an eyebrow. "If I hear or see any of you treating these boys like you have been, you'll regret it."

"Bella," Charlie said in a fatherly tone.

"Dad, I told you how this was going to play out. You don't respect me, Collin, Brady, or the rest of this pack; I can't be apart of it- I refuse to be. I'll move out like you asked me to. I can't take your opinions anymore."

"Bella," Brady said softly with a hand to my shoulder. Both boys looked guilt ridden.

"Guys this was my decision," I told them softly.

"You shouldn't have to do this," Collin said. "If we were a true family like you think we were then this wouldn't be happening."

I sighed as he walked off to the woods. Brady gave me a sympathetic look and went after his brother.

"Are you all happy now?" I asked turning to the group. "Are you satisfied with all of your bullying and put downs?" I looked over at Charlie. "This is what you wanted right dad? To have them stay away from me? Did you want them to feel like a piece of crap too? Because you succeeded in that."

"And you," I said turning to my mate. My anger was full on. "How could you let this happen? How could you stand there and do the wrongs of everyone else. You were supposed to be better. You were someone I expected better from!"

I held back the rest of my anger. "Shape yourselves up boys or you'll all be a little more lonely in La Push."

With that, I took off to go find Collin and Brady. Finding them right at the skirts of the woods and the beach, I saw Collin with tears down his cheek hitting a tree.

"Bella," Brady breathed.

"Hey boys," I smiled with my hands in my pockets. "Can I join you?"

"You should stay away. We could hurt you," Collin said. I furrowed my eyebrows. The guys really did a number on him.

"I trust you," I told the boy with a soft hand on his shoulder. He glanced up at me and swiftly put his head in my shoulder and cried. I comforted him the best I could. I whispered sweet words in his ear as I ran my hand through his hair. I rubbed his back and let him cry it all out.

"It ends here," I told both of them. "No more."

"But what about you Bella? What are you going to do? Where are you going to live?" Brady asked.

I smiled at his concerned. "You don't think I have enough money saved up from all of the jobs I've been getting? I'm top charted on numerous hit songs," I smiled. "I can take care of you, Collin, myself, Sam, and the rest of La Push with money left over. Don't worry about me," I cooed out. "We can figure something out."

"You shouldn't have to do this Bella," Collin said again.

"Well then it's a good thing im not 'having' to do it. It's my choice. Its something I should have done a long time ago."

"You really think it will be okay?" Brady asked after a while.

"No doubt in my mind," I smiled at them. Walking over to the other youngster, I kissed them both on the head. "Stop worrying. They will come around. You'll see."

We stayed at the beach for a while longer. We took walks up and down the sand enjoying the nice evening. Sam and the rest of the guys came looking for us a while longer. Glancing at all of them, I could tell my boyfriend was guilty. Jake looked a little more calm and understanding, and as for the rest of them they seemed a bit apologetic.

"See, I told you," I said nudging both Collin and Brady's shoulder. We walked up to guilty group.

"So maybe we got a bit carried away," Embry said.

"A bit?" I asked.

"So maybe we really got carried away," Jared amended.

"I'm sorry Bro," Quil told the boys first.

Both Collin and Brady nodded, taking Quil's hand in a man shake.

"Even though im not big on the whole apologizing thing, I am too man," Paul said to the boys.

The apologies continued until we reached Jake and Sam.

"I acted out of line. To both of you," Jake said looking at the twins. "And I especially crossed the line when it came to you Bells," my best friend said. "I guess I was just so caught up in the fear that I could lose you, that I didn't really think about anything else. I didn't mean to be so harsh," he told the three of us. "I'm sorry."

I smiled at Jake as Collin and Brady nodded, accepting the explanation.

"Sam?" I asked. He looked mad yet…guilty.

"I shouldn't have let it come so far." He told us. "I let everything get way out of hand and I treated my brothers with disrespect."

Sam looked up at us. "I turned your brothers against you. I don't know how I did it, I didn't even mean to, but I did."

I gave Sam a sorrow look. "Sorry cant even cover it boys. I acted far beyond than anything I ever imaged I could. You deserve more. You all deserve more," he said looking at his pack.

Immediately I knew where this was going. If he were to say those words and mean them, he would no longer be alpha.

"Sam," I said immediately stepping in. I shook my head as he tried to stop me.

"Do not say those words you hear me? Don't even think about them." I stepped in front of him, looking up to stare in those big brown eyes.

"I love you. Your pack loves you. Collin and Brady love you. We all screw up sometimes Sam. We let our emotions and thoughts get in the way of our rational views. But it didn't go as far as your mind thinks. You are a great Alpha Sam. No one could lead this pack better. I know its hard and I can see how much you have lost faith in yourself, but please listen to me," I told him as I slid a hand up around his neck. "Leaving your pack wouldn't help anyone. They need you now more than ever. Don't run away from the problem, fix it."

"I am the problem Bells," he said sadly.

"No," I said shaking my head. "You baby, are not the problem. It's everyone's thoughts that are the problem. You all carry the same old traditions with the same old stories. But things change- time changes. The longer the cycle of wolves go on, the more information we obtain. We learn from other's mistakes Sam."

He looked at me confused and I let out a laugh. "I'm saying everything is not how it used to be. You carry all of those scary stories of what could happen, but they haven't actually happened in ages Sam. You need to let them go and not worry so much."

He bowed his head, seeking me for comfort. "I'm your imprint Sam. I know what I am talking about. Have a little more faith in yourself and the pack."

My mind clicked. Have a little faith. I liked that phrase.

Sam inhaled deeply and I kissed what I could reach of him.

"I'm sorry boys," Sam said stepping back to look at them. Collin and Brady looked fully recovered. It was like Sam's apology meant the most out of all of them.

I went to go stand in between the twins. "Think we can all go eat now?"

Everyone laughed and I walked off with the half naked giants by my side.

* * *

><p>Jake apologized at my side time and time again. With each kiss to my cheek, head, and hand I giggled and repeated how he was forgiven. It was funny to see all of the boys grovel. I could tell they were trying to make it up to Collin and Brady too. Both of the young wolves were wrapped in conversations with their brothers. It was nice to see.<p>

When we stepped inside, with the rest of the boys. I smiled at Sam. Everything turned out okay. We were back to normal.

As our pack tried to fit in the little house all together, our laughter spread. I guess not all of us could go through the doorway at once.

I noticed Charlie was waiting inside the house with Billy in the living room. Spotting me, he got up from his chair. I was prepared for another long fight but instead he turned to Collin and Brady beside me and held out his hand.

"I'm sorry boys. I truly am." Surprised by his blunt apology, I looked to see how the boys would take it.

"Its okay Chief Swan," Brady said shaking the man's hand. Collin took it too without saying anything. I think he was still getting used to it all.

"Bells, I don't want you to leave home," Charlie said facing me then. "I lost it a bit. I'll admit it. I just worry when it comes to you."

"I know," I smiled going over to hug my dad as I slipped from Sam's grasp. Charlie sighed and kissed the top of my head. "We okay now?"

"Definitely," I grinned up at him. Going over to Uncle Billy, I hugged him too. "Thought you deserved a hug."

He laughed, "You really know how to treat an old man."

* * *

><p>Dinner was served a while later. We all sat around the table spreading jokes and happy news. It was a rarity to get everyone together. Some had school, while others had work and patrols. It was nice to actually feel like a family- without a bon fire having to bring us all together.<p>

My phone rang in my shirt pocket and I stood up to get it. Kissing Sam on my way out, I glanced at the many men around the table. Collin and Brady's spirits seemed lifted, Embry, Jake, and Sam looked less stressed, and Quil and Paul seemed to be having a blast.

"Hello?" I asked as I waited in the hall.

"Bella! Good to hear from you," Pete's voice said.

"Hey Pete," I smiled on the phone.

"Sorry to bother you, I know how you like your family time."

"Not a problem," I said with a laugh. His words brought back a funny memory.

_It was just as my career was getting hot. Sam and I were sitting around with the Pack in the living room hanging out. My cell phone rang for the billionth time that day and Paul finally went to go and get it. We heard a crunch in the kitchen and I shot up to see what happened. My phone was smashed against the counter._

"_Paul!" I yelled looking at the device in pieces._

"_It has been ringing non stop since dinner. Every time we hang out with you this has been happening. Its like the device has a life of its own! What happened to having family time?"_

"_It's work! Its important," I said holding up what was left of my phone. I felt sorry for the poor device. It was met with Paul's fury._

"_I'm tired of the 'working Bells'. I want the fun carefree Bella back we all once had," he said looking at me. Glancing over at everyone else, they were in agreement._

"_Okay," I sighed. "Just let me call the industry back and set down some rules okay?" I asked with a hand on his shoulder._

_He nodded and they all left the kitchen so I could make my last call._

"What's up?" I questioned.

"Well I was hoping you finished some more songs? I have a few clients on the line hoping to meet you."

"Really?" I questioned with surprise. It was actually a pretty slow month for me. Ever since I told Pete I would only like work with artists who would meet me in Washington, things have become a bit slower.

"Yes, they are willing to meet you…but they demanded in Seattle."

"I can do Seattle," I laughed.

"Okay, well then hopefully you can put a rush on those songs? I don't want them to change their minds- a catch like this could be big."

"I can do that too." I told the man. We talked a little bit more and I was beyond excited. I was about to meet Mandy Moore.

We hung up a while later and I went back to join the dinner table.

"Everything okay?" Sam asked. I nodded and smiled at him. Things really were turning up.

"Hey Embry, you know how you were messing with that sick beat the other day?" I asked.

He nodded. "I think I got a song to that. Wanna try it out after this?"

He shrugged. "Sure, we can give it a shot."

"Can we come?" Jake asked.

"Sure," I smiled. It was nice when they came to the Cullens. The vampire scent was dying off as Sam claimed, so the boys were more than willing to come watch us.

After cleaning up the dishes we all headed over there. Embry got the beat set up from his keyboard while I pulled out some paper and thought through everything I wanted to say.

"Can you add that," I asked pointing to a little sound button. The melody changed a bit and I thought of the song in my head. "Yea, like that, but repeat it."

As he did so, I proof read the song and edited it a bit more. Most of the guys sat around the room waiting for the song to be heard.

I was waiting for my queue from Embry when I stared out to the forest and thought of another song. Sam held out a paper in front of me before I could even walk to get it and I smiled.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"You have that look on your face," he said. I laughed and shook my head. I didn't have 'a look. Writing the words against my thigh, I bit my lip to think.

"Ready," Embry told me. I looked up and went back to my other song. I guess I was going to have to brush the new one off till later.

He played the background music and I went to the piano to add my own notes to the rhythm. Slowly, I began to play and add my words.

_**("Have A Little Faith In Me" by Mandy Moore)**_

When the road gets dark  
>And you can no longer see<br>Let my love throw a spark  
>And have a little faith in me<p>

I smiled. The song felt right and I could see the boys begin to smile too. "When the tears you cry  
>Are all you can believe<br>Just give these loving arms a try baby  
>And have a little faith, faith in me<p>

Have a little faith in me  
>Have a little faith in me<br>And have a little faith in me  
>Have a little faith, faith in me<p>

When your secret heart  
>Cannot speak so easily<br>Come here baby  
>From a whisper, start<br>To have a little faith in me

And when your back's against the wall  
>Just turn around and you, you will see<br>I will catch your, I will catch your fall  
>Just have a little faith, faith in me<p>

Have a little faith in me  
>Have a little faith in me<br>Have a little faith in me  
>Have a little faith, have faith in me<p>

Well, I've been loving you  
>For such a long, long time<br>Exspecting nothing in return  
>Just for you to have a little faith in me<p>

You see time, time is our friend  
>Cause for us there is no end<br>All you gotta do is  
>Have a little faith in me<p>

I will hold you up  
>I will hold you up<br>And your love gives me strength enough to  
>Have a little faith in me<br>Oh, hey... ohh darling  
>Have a little faith in me<p>

Ooo... ooo...  
>ladadadadaa...ladadadadaa<br>Faith...

Giving Embry the look to stop, everyone smiled.

"I like it," Brady said. Collin nodded, along with everyone else.

* * *

><p><em><strong>(AN: I do not own any of these musical artists I put in my story or the characters from Twilight)**_

I met with Mandy Moore a few days later at a small record store in Seattle. They had a CD player back there where I played her my demo. She listened to the words, took in the beat and smiled.

"I love it."

From there, we signed a few papers and the song became her's. I gave her pointers on how the notes should be hit and when to go high and low. Everything was great.

"You know, you would be even more amazing if you traveled," she said kindly. "Most of the time we don't even have time to fly out and meet the writer. And you're a great person. You know what you are talking about and I love the songs you create. I'm not telling you what to do," she said looking at my face. "I just think a girl like you would really become a shining star if you were to step out onto the city streets and show the world what you got."

With a hug and a thank you, her and her manager left a little while later. I sighed as I thought about her words. She was right. Traveling would be better for my career. But it put strain on my relationships back home.

Sam and I tried it once, but it was tough. He wanted me to be happy and with the start of my career, it was something I needed to do to get noticed. So I packed up and left. For the most part, it worked out. But the more popular I had gotten, the longer I stayed away from my hometown and the more my relationships began to unravel with Sam and the Pack.

It was hard for them to see me gone for long periods of time. I never had a long time to talk and was always from one place to another. It wasn't worth it I guess, so I came home and worked from Forks. I was still happy- don't get me wrong. As long as I had my man, my family, and my music I was fine. It just could have been so much better.

Making my way home, the eerie silence passed and it made me even more anxious. My thoughts wouldn't let go how much I actually desired to go to LA or NY- to see the city streets and the sunny days. It all sounded so great. But I couldn't…could I?


	3. Chapter 3

I got home, unwinding the scarf from my neck.

"Hey how was it?" Charlie asked from the living room.

"Great," I smiled going in to join him. "Just tiring."

"She liked the song?"

"Loved it," I grinned. "She signed on right away and we spent the day going over things." I sighed. "Luckily, she found a recording studio in Seattle to start the single right away. She even asked me to stop by and check her out."

Charlie let out some noise of a congrats.

"Hey dad?" I asked treading in deep water. "Yea?" he replied in a gruff voice.

"Would it be bad if I said I wanted to further my career?"

"Further how?" he wondered with his eyes still glued to the TV.

"I was just thinking of traveling again."

"Bella," Charlie warned. I bit my lip. Somehow I knew his response. "It was just a thought dad."

"Well if you are going to act on it, then you better run it with Sam."

"Right," I sighed. Sam probably wasn't going to be too open-minded on me traveling again.

"Nobody is saying you cant Bells, its just going to be…rough again. You don't want that again do you?" Charlie asked.

"No," I sighed. We had just got over the Collin and Brady thing; we didn't need my drama to add on.

Waiting for some uplifting words from my dad, I found I wasn't going to get any. Getting up from the couch, I kissed Charlie goodnight and trudged upstairs. I actually really wanted to start traveling again. I had fun with it. It was…adventurous. Nothing like when I was with Renee and Phil. This was a while new experience- an encounter of my own.

Laying on my bed, I pulled up my computer and skyped the Cullens. Alice immediately came on screen and Emmett blurred behind her. I told them all about my day and what Mandy Moore was like. I gushed about what she said to me and just the whole experience.

"Bella, that's awesome!" Alice said happily.

"Bella bean is growing up," Emmett boomed. I laughed as Rose rolled her eyes.

"You want to travel again don't you?" Edward asked looking at me.

"Hey, I thought you couldn't read my mind," I teased. They laughed and we got more serious.

"Yea, I guess I do. What Mandy said really had me thinking you know? This is my dream job. I literally have everything I want. But…I don't know. I guess it would be easier if I were in a popular place like Miami or San Fran, but who am I to be so demanding and controlling? My job is still working out here. Its not like im not happy."

"But you could be happier," Jasper commented. I rolled my eyes thinking to myself how I said those exact same words in my head.

We talked a little longer before I checked the clock and saw Sam would be off patrol soon. "Ill talk to you guys soon. Love you!" I smiled at them while waving into the camera. They said their goodbyes and I closed my laptop.

As I headed to the bathroom with my things, I quickly changed and got ready for bed. After brushing my teeth and combing my hair, I shuffled back into my room.

"Hey, perfect timing," I smiled at my half naked boyfriend.

"I'm guessing your day was good," he said as I went over to hug him. I tossed my toiletries bag to the side and nodded. "It was really good," I smiled.

He kissed my lips softly.

"Picnic still at your house tomorrow?" I questioned with a moan as he kissed my neck.

"Mmhmm," he grumbled out as he continued his actions. Hitting the bed with the back of my knees, I fell onto the soft mattress and withered under Sam.

As we cuddled together, I shook my head with a laugh. We just did the dirty with my dad downstairs. How risky was that?

"What are you thinking?" he asked running a hand through my hair. I told him my silly thoughts, which he just blushed at and kissed my lips.

"What time should I be at your place tomorrow?" I asked.

"Maybe around 11?" he said cuddling into my chest.

"Okay," I sighed, as we got comfy.

"I love you," I whispered.

"Love you too baby," he said as we fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

><p>Sam was gone when I got up. With a note on my pillow, he was already at his house and on his share of patrols.<p>

I rolled out of bed prepared to take a shower. When I was out and dressed, I went down stairs. Charlie was out on his fishing trip this weekend so I would be sleeping over at Sam's. Grabbing some breakfast, I took my time around the house. I packed an overnight bag for Sam's, made some food for the picnic, and then laid on my bed thinking of my new song as my food needed to cook.

My mind seemed lost in the wind as I spent almost 45 minutes trying to think of anything to write down. It was like my free spirit to write was gone. Sighing, I threw down my pencil. I knew why. My thoughts have been clouded with my ideas of travel ever since I got home. The more I thought about it the more I really wanted to go. I didn't want to settle my life yet. There was still so much out there. And my career could provide it. Pete had said it many times over and over but I didn't even consider his words.

The oven beeped and called me back downstairs. I thought of what it would be like to leave home again. As much as traveling sounded like the greatest opportunity of a lifetime, so did spending my life with Sam. We had been dating for a little over 3 years now, and with our 4 years age difference, he was ready to settle down.

"_Bells, I'm 26…you're 22, when do you think there is a better age to settle down?"_

"_When I'm older," I always said. "22 is still young Sam. And even I don't feel that young, I am. We have time. Why get married and strap ourselves down right away?"_

"_Because I can't see my self doing anything other than that. I want to be with you- more than just your boyfriend. I want us to have a real future, making it come true in the best way possible."_

Every time I would sigh. His words were so sweet and caring, I just couldn't bring myself to get married so early. I knew the second that we would get married he would start pushing for kids, and that I was for sure not ready to have.

Pushing away the thoughts, I pulled out the cakes and pies from the oven and prepared them for the picnic. It was a quarter to 11. I had to leave soon. Putting them in boxes, I carried them out to the car and grabbed my things.

My thoughts needed to stay at the house. Sam and the rest of the Pack could read me like a book and I didn't want them to see traces of unhappiness. Well...maybe not unhappiness, but indecisiveness. I didn't want them to worry about my thoughts just yet. They were probably not even going to happen.

* * *

><p>Starting the engine, I took off to go see my boyfriend and all of our family members.<p>

It was nice to have everyone around again. Even though we just had dinner together, it was good to see the imprints and the guys happy. Letty, along with many other adults were here.

"Bella!" Jake cheered.

"Hey Guys," I smiled as Collin and Brady came to help me carry in the desserts. With a kiss on the cheek to both of them, I had them carry the food to the table.

"How have you guys been?" I asked them.

"Good," Brady smiled. I looked to Collin. "Better," he said in agreement. I smiled at the two. It was progress.

I said hello to Sue, Leah, and Seth, and then made my way over to the boys.

"Hi Jake," I laughed as he picked me up with a hug. It reminded me of Emmett when he did that. I smiled to Sarah giving her a nice hello too, and then went over to Embry.

"Hey you," I smiled. He was playing cards with Quil, Claire (who was sitting on Quil's lap), Paul, and Kim.

"Who's winning?" I asked pulling up a chair by Paul. He showed me his hand in rummy. I nodded and kissed his cheek. "So far, Kim." he answered. I looked at her surprised, which she just giggled to.

"My family and I used to play every Friday evening when we did a game night," she informed me. I nodded still impressed by her skills. Quil was whispering little things in Claire's ear, which had her giggling and pointing to their hand. It was cute.

Jared and Sam came over a while later. Saying hello to my 'brother', I felt Sam bend down and give me a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey," I said glancing up at him.

"Having fun?" he asked as he stood behind me. I nodded as Jared sat down with Kim in his lap.

"Want anything?" Sam asked me.

"No, im good," I smiled as he walked away. I don't know if he could tell I was off. My thoughts spooked me today and made me feel a bit uncomfortable around him. Was he going to bring up our future again? Was he going to push getting married and starting a family?

Shaking away the thoughts, I enjoyed the company I sat around. We ate a little while later, which gave me some time to talk with Letty. She was a lot better these days. Ever since Paul and I brought her home from the rehab center, she seemed like her 'old self' Paul claimed. She was always kind- keeping an eye out for Paul as she enjoyed the things around her. Of course, everyone still kept watch on her to make sure she wouldn't slip up, but I think she was appreciative of that.

"How's life Letty?" I asked her as we ate.

"Great Bella. Its good to be back to my normal self."

"Good," I smiled with genuinity. I thought of her as my mom, as I did with Esme. Only this time, she was a mom figure to me in the werewolf world.

"How are you? How are things in the music business?" she asked kindly. My heart sank a bit but I quickly covered it up before I let the feelings seep into Sam. Covering myself up with a quick smile, I told her about everything- my meeting with Mandy Moore and how she wanted me at her recording studio. I added the small details of Embry helping me out on the song and everything in between. She seemed really happy for me. Everyone at the table was beyond excited to hear the great news and it made me feel a bit calmer. I left out the parts about the artist's advice to me; no one around here was going to want to know about that.

After the barbeque was over, I talked with Leah and Cole. Cole was her boyfriend. She didn't imprint on him, but they were casually dating. Leah claimed she didn't believe in the imprinting thing like everyone else. She thought that it was just a trick of the mind and even though she was happy for me, she wouldn't fall for that.

My girl's intuition knew that even though she claimed she didn't believe it, a part of her deep down inside wanted it to be real. Everyone wanted that fairytale ending- even the boys did. And from a girl's point of view, I think she was worried that it would never happen to her.

Anyways, Cole was a sweet guy. He treated Leah with a lot of respect and love. They seemed fit for each other, especially without an imprint.

"Isabelly!" Claire came running over to me with a smile.

"Hey girly," I laughed as I picked her running body up. She was the only one who could call me that. For some reason she really like my full name. She thought it was 'princess sounding'. So she made up her own little nickname for me, which I loved.

"Quil is trying to play tickle monster with me," she giggled. A grin spread across my face. She was too cute for words, and the way she looked up to Quil had my heart melt. He was really good with her.

"Oh no! Well we better run," I said sweetly. I jogged with her in my arms as Quil came chasing after us around the yard.

"Faster Isabelly! Hurry!" She squealed with happiness. I set her down, taking my hand in hers and we ran. She was fast for her little body. I actually had to jog a bit faster to keep up the speed she wanted. Eventually Quil caught her, picking her up in his arms and tossing her in the air. Her laughter seemed contagious as I smiled at the pair. Her curly sandy blond hair flowed through the air.

"How are you Bella?" A voice asked me, cutting my thoughts with a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Sue looking at me sweetly.

"Hey Sue, im good. Really good. How about you?"

She smiled at me. "I'm okay. Taking it one day at a time. You're father has been a huge help."

I held back a grin. Of course Charlie has. He had been with her every step of the way-watching her grieve, comforting her, making her laugh. I was waiting for the day they would finally call themselves a couple.

"I'm glad. He seems to really like you."

Her blush was obvious. I kept my comments to myself as I brought up a bunch of random things. Sam joined us soon after that. He attacked me from behind letting out his laughter.

"Hey you," I smiled holding him in a backwards embrace.

He gave me a kiss before turning his attention to Sue. The three of us talked about the night. It turned out great. Even if the older men weren't here with us.

"Isabelly!" Claire shouted running to my legs. I let out an 'oomph' and bent down slightly.

"What are you doing Claire Bear?" I asked.

"Quil said I had to go home," she pouted. I let out a laugh, alongside Sue and Sam.

"He did, did he?" I asked. She nodded and wrapped her arms around my legs tighter. "I don't want to go. I'm not tired yet and if I go home I will have to go to bed."

"Well what if Quil tucks you in?" I bargained as Quil walked to us shaking his head. She lessened her death grip on me for a second before shaking her head and hugging me tight.

"No Quil! I don't want to go," Claire cried as he got near. Quil's face was full of anguish. He didn't like seeing her upset, especially since she was so young.

"Tell him Isabelly," she commanded looking up at me. I let out a laugh. She was character, this one.

"What time does she have to be home?" I asked Quil while rubbing Claire's back.

"About now," he said. "I'm already 5 minutes late. Her mom is sure to kill me."

I gave him a sympathetic look. Glancing at anyone else for help Sue gave me a lost look. She didn't have any clue what to do.

"Claire, how about you lessen the death grip just a bit?" I joked. She shook her little head and moved so she had one of Sam and my leg.

He let out a laugh and ruffled her hair.

"I'm not going Quily."

"But then you cant come back next time Claire," he said sadly. She frowned. Sam gave me a kiss on my temple as he stared at the cute little girl.

"Claire, you want to come back next time don't you?" Sue asked nicely.

"Yea," she whined.

"Then you got to go home. We will see you before you know it," Sue said nicely. Claire gave her a look and then shook her head. Quil went to go grab her again but she started crying. All of our hearts clenched a bit. Nobody liked to hear her cry, especially Quil.

"How about, you and me have a play date?" I said grabbing Claire from our legs. She looked up at me with wide eyes. "Now?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

I laughed and shook my head. "No, not now, but we can do it this weekend. We can spend all day together."

"But I want to have a date now," she whined.

"Well you have to get some sleep," I prodded. "If we are going to be hanging out with each other, I plan to wear you out," I said jokingly. She smiled a bit. "So you have to get lots of rest."

She looked down at me playing with my necklace I got from Renee a few years ago, and then glanced over at Quil.

"What about him?" she questioned turning back to me. I looked at Quil who just looked surprised I could calm her down. Usually when she cried, she went full blast on the water works.

"Hmm," I turned to look at Sue and Sam. Both of them had a look of adoration on their face. My stomach flip-flopped a bit. I hope Sam wasn't getting any ideas.

I leaned forward to whisper a secret in her ear. "We can have the guys cook for us."

She looked at me wide eyed. Usually it was the women who cooked. Even though Sam knew how and was pretty good at it, he usually left it to me, which I didn't mind.

I gave her a nod at the look of disbelief on her face.

"I don't know if he can cook Isabelly," Claire said to me as she stuck her thumb out over to Quil. I let out a laugh. "Well then, we may have to supervise."

She nodded and played with my necklace again.

"We have a deal?" I asked.

Her face scrunched but nodded nonetheless. Letting her down she gave me one last hug to my legs, kissed Sue and Sam on the cheek, and then had Quil pick her up and take her home.

"Well done Bella," Sue complimented. I laughed and blushed all together.

"Thanks," I huffed out as Sam held me tighter against him. "I just dread the day I have to make my part of the deal come true."

We all laughed together knowing it was going to be a very long day when the time came to have my play date with Claire Bear.


	4. Chapter 4

Hours after Claire left the party finally ended. Quil seemed to never returned from dropping off though, which meant he was either roped into reading a bunch of bed time stories to her or that her mom was giving him an earful for being late.

"I am beat," I groaned as we went to get ready for bed. Sam chuckled and pulled me up into his arms.

"Are you going to change?" Sam asked me after a few moments of silence. I mumbled out a yes as I drifted in and out of consciousness. His rumbling laughter in his chest woke me up a bit.

"Okay, im going," I said getting out of his arms.

I changed, combed my hair, washed my face, and brushed my teeth.

"All done," I huffed as I plopped back down on his bed. He chuckled at me as he stripped off his shirt and jeans. He left for a few minutes, leaving me with an empty cold bed. Crawling towards me a few minutes later, I let out a hum of appreciation for his body heat as we snuggled together.

"Wake me up at 10 tomorrow okay?" I asked peeking an eye open. He nodded kissing me softly. Closing the distance between us, I fell asleep snuggled beside him.

* * *

><p>Sam called my name, waking me up at the time I asked. Groaning, I rolled over onto my stomach and tried to go back to sleep.<p>

"Up and at 'em babe," he said coming into the bedroom to get me.

"Go away," I groaned out snuggling closer to my pillow. For some reason I was tired. Beyond tired actually. As the room was quiet, I felt content going back to sleep until Sam hovered over me and began kissing my shoulders.

"Sam," I mumbled out as I found his lips distracting.

"Hmm?' he wondered as his hands began to wander.

"Sleep." I commanded. He let out a laugh and lightly nipped at my neck. "No can do babe. I've been up for an hour."

I let out a groan. Something about Sam was that when he was up, he was up for good. He wasn't the man to usually fall back asleep.

"I don't want to get up," I whined. His hands continued to wander which gave me Goosebumps.

"I think I can provide an incentive to get you up," he growled seductively. Moving some hair away, he started giving feathery kisses down my back.

Within minutes I was wide-awake kissing him with passion. So the man was right, he really could provide a way to get me up.

* * *

><p>After my 'wake up call' in bed, we headed into the shower together. One of the best things about Sam's house was his shower. Not only was it big but the way the shower sprayed out was perfect too.<p>

We spent quite a while in there; not that I minded. By the time we came out our hands were both wrinkly and it was way past 10. Rushing to get ready, Sam let me be and caused little roadblock as I dashed around his place trying to hurry and leave.

"Bye!" I breathed coming to kiss him. With a tight lip lock, he held my waist and made my body mellow out. I knew what he was doing. I was wound up beyond belief before even getting to work. Only he could calm me down like that.

"Thanks," I smiled with a blush. With one last slow, loving kiss, I left to meet Mandy Moore at the recording studio. _**(A/N: again, I don't own her or any of these characters)**_

I made it two minutes early to the studio. Luckily she was still prepping with her manager, so I had some time to talk with the guys running and editing the sounds.

"Hey Bella," Mandy said to me when she was finished. I said my hello's to her and we all waited for her to get in the sound booth. Setting her up with the background music, everyone listened to her voice. I told some of the staff what it should sound like more and then went to go talk through it with Mandy.

We worked on her song for hours, and I helped her with one that she was working on herself. Apparently she rented out the studio times for the whole day, so I was fortunate to have a one on one session with her for most of it.

"Go higher up with your pitch when you hear these words," I said pointing to some of her lyrics. She did what I told her and smiled. "I like that."

I worked with her till around 6. Just as I was finishing up with her manger she came out of the sound box.

"Hey, did you want to go clubbing tonight?" she asked. I looked at her surprised. Usually artists didn't want much to do with me after I helped them with a song, but she seemed in no rush to leave Seattle.

"Sure," I replied hesitantly. "Think I could bring some friends?"

She nodded excitedly. "Of course. The more the merrier."

I nodded and smiled. This job was the best. Pulling out my phone, I went to dial Sam's number.

"Hey," I called turning back to the artist before I pressed 'call' on my phone. "Why don't you bring that guy you were talking about too? You know, the one you wrote the song for," I said. She blushed and I laughed.

"Oh come on, the title of your song's name is Crush. It couldn't be more obvious than that."

She nodded and bit her lip. "Yea, I guess I'll give him a call."

Grinning to her, I turned back to my phone and called Sam. He picked up on the second ring with the perfect hello.

"Hey baby, what's up?" he asked.

"How do you feel about having you and the Pack come clubbing with me tonight?" I asked. I knew he would be confused, which made me even more excited to tell him the whole story.

"You want to go clubbing?" he asked.

Grinning, I told him the whole story- how Mandy Moore, _**the**_ Mandy Moore, wanted me to go clubbing with her. Hell, she even wanted me to bring more people along with her.

"Uhh sure. I can ask the guys." He said.

"Leah too," I added. Ever since Leah had turned, she has stepped away from most of our Pack outings. She skips out on our 'family' dinners and never really comes around just to hang. We don't take it offensively. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be the only female wolf, but I still wanted to give her the opportunity to come, especially since her and Cole decided to take a 'break'.

"Okay, I will ask them all. Are you coming home for dinner?" he wondered.

"I think I am going to grab something here." I told him.

"Okay baby," he said. Sealing the final details, I told him I would text him with the rest of the information later when I knew. After hanging up with him, I went back to Mandy and chummed around with her.

Mandy was more humble and uncelebrity like than most of the artists I had encountered. Of course, she just finished her movie 'Walk to Remember' which was a huge hit, which was exciting for her; she had no rush in her schedule to go anywhere.

Her, her manager, staff, and I all went to a small restaurant around Seattle for dinner. It was crazy to see all of these people go wild around her. She signed her autograph at every piece of paper that came her way, along with smiling at every camera in her face. When we finally had the opportunity to leave, we did a little shopping around the streets. I made sure to pick up a new outfit at one of the stores we went to so I had something to change into when we went clubbing.

It was around 8 when we finally decided on our plans. We would go to this new opening of a club called Brock's Basement, where her security would set up a private booth for her and everyone else we knew coming.

As I went into the bathroom to change, I swore to myself I was living a dream. Was I really hanging out with a celebrity? Was I really about to go clubbing with her? Life seriously, could not get any better.

I slipped on my tight black mini skirt and a tight plunge v-neck dark blue sequins cami on top. Putting in some hoop earrings and freshening up my hair and make up, I slipped on a pair of black high heels and was good to go.

Stepping back out to the main lobby, Mandy came out. She wore a tight grey goddess like dress that was one shoulder. It wrapped around her figure perfectly. She carried with her a light pink purse, which matched her high heel shoes.

"You look great," she exclaimed as she walked towards me.

"And you look amazing," I gushed. Her beauty was stunning. Her hair in perfect half back loose girls and her makeup looked liked she walked out of a magazine.

"You ready to go?" she asked. I nodded letting her take the lead. We headed towards her car, which surprisingly was just a Ford Escape. The driver opened the back door for us, which we both politely thanked him for.

"You were expecting something more expensive," she said reading my mind as we took off. I let out an embarrassing laugh and nodded.

"As nice as that sounds, I really don't need it. Plus, this is just a rental," she smiled. We talked a little more as we rode there. I told her whom I invited (and gave her a fair warning of how gorgeous they actually were) and she brought up whom she invited.

"Okay so I called up two guys. There is Shane and I called Trent," she said guiltily as she faced me.

"Both?" I laughed. Mandy and Shane West had 'feelings' for each other after the movie they did together, but neither of them would really go for it. And Trent was a good friend of hers I guess who was starring in a movie with her soon.

"I just didn't know what to do. I like them both. Is that wrong?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Of course not. Its just…surprising. I thought you wanted Shane all to yourself and his focus to be on you."

"I'm hoping it will be," she admitted. "But it was also a great opportunity to call Trent. We have actually been staying in touch unlike Shane, and I don't know, we are getting ready for this new movie together, which is the perfect opportunity to start something with him. And he's so…" she sighed when she couldn't find the words and I let out a small laugh.

"Its okay, I think I get what you mean."

She gave me a grateful look. "You must think I am crazy. Dumping my love life all on you and then taking you and your friends out to go clubbing with me."

"No," I lied. She gave me a look. "Okay maybe a little," I laughed. Her body posture changed and I quickly tried to ease her nerves.

"Look, I'm glad to be more than just a writer for your new single. You're a great person who deserves a great guy. And even though I might not be the greatest girl to go to for advice, I will try and help you in any way that I can."

She smiled at me. "So I'm not too over the top crazy? It's just so hard to actually find time to have a girl type friend around here and you seemed nice enough. I mean you helped me with my music and even stuck around to listen to my other songs…"

"You're not crazy at all," I smiled. We slowed to a stop and quickly got out. The line to the new place was wrapped around the building. Once everyone took a look at who just arrived, they went crazy- pulling out their cameras and shouting Mandy's name. She gave a nice wave and had the bouncer let us in.

"We are waiting on a few people. Send them down when they are here?" she asked the very big and tall bouncer guy. He nodded as she described them to her. With a tug on my arm, a waitress took us to our spot.

"This place is amazing," I said looking all around. We were off to the side in a glass-encased area where we could see the dance floor and the bar.

"Did you want anything?" she asked as someone came to take our drink order. Getting myself a Cosmo, Mandy got a Martini and we sat in the private room waiting for our guys.

Sam and the Pack (the ones who were old enough) stuck out like a sore thumb. Not only were they all tall, buff, dark, and handsome, they didn't seem to be wearing the 'club' like outfits. With jeans and button up shirts on, I laughed as they were walked to us.

"Boys," I smiled out kissing Sam quickly as he led the group.

"Damn Bells," Embry whistled.

"You look nice," I told Jake kissing him on the cheek.

"Leah, wow," I said looking at her. She was wearing tight dark jeans a turquoise halter-top, and a pair of black heels. She gave me a grin, taking my appearance. I said hello to Kim and Sarah also, who were surprisingly looking nice too. Sarah had on some dark jeans; leather boots and an olive green top while Kim modeled a tight, dark jean mini skirt with a deep purple fancy designed shirt and some heels.

"Paul, you might want to close you mouth," I teased to him as he continued to stare. Sam slapped him over the back of the head, which I gave an eye roll to. That wasn't really necessary to Paul.

Jared gave me a nice compliment, kissing my cheek as he stepped towards me to say hello.

"Where's Quil?" I asked.

"Said he couldn't make it. He was with Claire," Jared answered. I knew not to push that topic any further, so I turned back and introduced the famous artist.

Mandy looked stunned a bit, wondering how I knew such hot guys.

"I warned you," I smirked taking a sip of my drink as it arrived. Sam and the rest of the guys ordered a beer, while Leah ordered a Mojito.

"So anyone else coming?" Embry asked.

"We are waiting on some people of Mandy's," I smiled flashing the girl a look. She returned the comment with a nervous smile, biting her lip as she waited for her men to show.

I talked with Leah for a while, both of us laughing at the guys' stares, which we could both easily feel. I thought Sam and Paul were going to burn holes through my body while Embry couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Leah. I think Jared was just more shocked that we were both this dressed up. Never have we worn this type of attire.

"Shane's not coming," she spoke gloomily as she sat back on the couch with Leah and I.

"What? Why?" I asked leaning toward her. Her mood changed for anxious and happy, to a bit disappointed and glum.

"He texted me and said he got tied up in some other things and wouldn't be able to make it." She held the phone in her hand limply and stared at it.

"Well, there is always Trent," I said taking another sip of my drink. Leah sat by me listening to our conversation intently. I'm sure she was confused.

"And speak of the devil himself," I called out looking behind the music artist.

"He's here," Mandy whispered. "He actually came," she breathed. I laughed at the amazement in her voice.

Flashing her a smile, I pushed her to go get him. She stood up; facing the glass window in surprise and Trent noticed her right away. Holding up her hand hesitantly, she gave him the signal to meet her over here.

"Nicely done," I smiled. She looked back over to me with a blush. "Oh my gosh. He's actually here."

Leah and I laughed. She was still shocked he showed up.

"Seems to me like he likes you," Leah spoke up while putting the drink to her lips. Mandy blushed again. The door opened to our private room and immediately she ran over to Trent, who had her in his open arms.

"10 bucks that she ends up with him at the end of the night," Leah spoke to me.

"Oh, I already know that's going to happen," I said with a look. We both smirked when we glanced at the couple. They were lost in their own little world. Clinking our drinks together, we both took a sip and watched the scene unfold.

Mandy introduced us to Trent a few moments later. He was beyond nice-very caring and gentleman like. I could really see why she fell for him. They appeared to be a great couple, and hopefully their movie together would only bring them closer.

Trent also seemed to fit into our little group quite nicely. He joked around with the guys, and made sure to respect their girlfriends. We all had our fun. The DJ soon hollered for all the women to get on the dance floor. Female intuition must have kicked in because all of the girls were giving each other looks.

"Let's go show 'em how it's done," I grinned as we got up. I made sure to pull along Sarah and Kim. They had been on their boys' laps this whole time, seeming not too comfortable with the setting in front of them.

"Relax, this is gunna be fun," I told the two La Push girls. I glanced over at the men and saw them all staring at us. Kim and Sarah unnoticeably glanced back too and let out a laugh. Oh, this was going to be sweet.

We found a spot on the dance floor, waiting for the DJ to give his last call to all the ladies and play a new song. Leah and I checked to make sure we had everyone. When DJ Smith, he called himself, played the next song, everyone roared with liking.

"**Leah Back" by Terror Squad** began to play.

We all began to move, swaying our hips in ways im sure the boys never knew existed. I rolled my body in smooth motions. I laughed as Leah leaned near me to match my movements. I switched it up a little, letting my hands slide down my body landing on my hips. I moved in a slow lazy swirl, letting my stomach become a bit exposed as I jut out a hip. I slid a hand through my long brown hair pulling it up a little.

The song changed half way through "Leah Back"; it was now **"Show Stopper" by Danity Kane.**

We all laughed and began snapping our fingers. The beat still flowed, along with our bodies. I added a little hip popping, which had my girls hollering. Some of the people start singing, while others were just getting a little too crazy.

Sarah got pushed and I immediately rushed over there to make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine!" she yelled a little flustered. I took her hands rolling my body to loosen her up a bit. She smiled, catching on to what I was doing; relaxing to the beat she began dancing with me.

I glanced over at Mandy and found her smiling. She looked like she was having a good time.

The song switched to **"Say Cheese" by KC** and I could see all of the boys walking up to us. Sam had desire deep in his black-pooled eyes. Jared couldn't take his eyes off of Kim and Jake looked like he could take Sarah right there on the dance floor. Trent, though- he had the best expression on his face. His eyes followed every moment of Mandy's body, taking in everything she was doing. His expression was pure lust.

I dragged Sam closer to me by the collar of his shirt. Settling myself so I was in front of him, I backed my ass against his hard on and started grinding. The rest of the guys pulled their ladies against them. Paul and Embry had seemly grabbed a few girls huddled by them too. Smiling at everyone, I focused back on Sam. Not only was he clearly turned on but he also couldn't stop nipping at my neck. That was a wolf thing I guess. Whenever Sam was in that type of mood, he took a lot of focus around my neck and shoulders. He said it was because, when we were ready, the wolf would mark me as his imprint somewhere on the neck (which shows sign of submission) and the imprint would be forever sealed.

I cupped the back of his neck, moving my head so he could get further access. This just egged him on even more. The hand that was settled on my hip pushed me back against him. I let out a small moan entwining our hands to make him stop. If he continued to do that, we would be leaving for his house in a matter of minutes. I reeled in some of my self-preservation and turned to face him. My hips still swayed, but it let me gain more focus to my surroundings. The feeling of the imprint was a bit too much. I felt as if I could jump his bones right there.

"It's getting a little steamy in here ladies!" the DJ called through the mic, "How about we switch it up a bit? Ladies, find a different man."

Giving Sam a smirk, I drifted away from him and found Paul. The girl he was dancing with slowly walked away, but he didn't seem to care. His eyes were set on me.

"Care to dance?" I asked seductively. The song **"Baby It's You" by JoJo** came on.

"Been wanting to since we stepped on the floor," he said. We didn't get as personal as Sam and I did when he saw me. Instead we circled each other. Paul moved his body impressively as I danced around him. I let my body sway and roll in front of him. My fingers danced around his shoulders and I eventually let loose.

"**Let Go" by Brit & Alex** came on. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders moving my body to the beat. His hands found an even space between my hips and waist. It was nothing intimate. Sure it carried some passion, but it made me feel sexy. Paul was a good dancer. He followed a lot of my rhythm along with the beat of the song and mixed in some of his own things. Eventually he controlled my body to move with his. Looking down to watch how he was swaying, I slowly picked up and let him lead.

"Not bad," I smiled.

He grinned and continued to move us both.

"Ladies!" the DJ called. "Switch!"

Slowly letting Paul go, I leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Thanks for the dance."

I slipped out of his grasp, swaying my hips so when I walked away, he would be longing after me.

"**Can't Help But Wait" by Trey Songz** came on and Embry swung me towards him by the waist.

"And what do you think you're doing?" he asked dancing with me in an obvious platonic way.

"What do you mean?" I asked folding my wrists over his neck.

"You and Paul back there. You both were roped in each other."

"No we weren't," I blushed slightly. "He's just a good dancer."

"Sure," Embry said looking at me skeptically.

"I'm going to guess you can feel Sam's jealousy," I said to him. He nodded slowly. Unfortunately, I could feel it too; I just chose to ignore it.

"He cant get jealous over every guy I dance with," I said frustrated. Case in point, I could feel his jealousy right now as I danced with Embry.

"He can't help it," Embry said.

I rolled my eyes at that stupid comment. "He can't blame the imprint on everything. One day he is going to have to get used to that."

"You guys okay?" Embry wondered cocking his head to the side.

"Yea," I said blowing some hair out of my face. "I'm just saying. He is about to make me punch someone he's feeling so jealous. And he knows he doesn't have to be. I'm his. What more do I have to do to prove that to him?"

My head knew the answer to that- tell him I was ready to get married and have a kid; have him mark me.

"Don't answer that," I muttered to Embry before he could open his mouth.

We stayed silent for most of the song, waiting for the DJ to give the cue to switch. When he did, I went to Jared.

"Hey," I said not feeling so sexy and in the dancing mood anymore.

"Hey, you okay?" he wondered. He held me like Embry did. Safe. Platonic. Not risking anything because I was Sam's.

"Just dandy," I said with some sarcasm. Obviously Jared picked up on it but didn't question it.

"You and Paul seemed…close," he said treading carefully. I rolled my eyes and looked at Jared straight in the eye. He wasn't one to be known for wandering around the bush.

"Just wondering if you saw it too," he said trying to back away with the glare I was giving him.

"We were just dancing. He is a really good dancer."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Jared mumbled. I gave him a raised eyebrow. "By the way you two were dancing together, I would say you had the whole club looking at both of you."

I turned away blushing a bit. I didn't know that.

"Just be careful okay? Sam can be pretty territorial, especially being the Alpha and all," Jared advised. I nodded, kissing his cheek as we switched again. This time I took back Sam.

"Hey," I smiled. He wrapped his arms around me, in more of a slow dance position.

"I know you're jealous," I started out, as he didn't seem to be speaking. "But you know you don't have to be."

He let out a huff.

"Would you stop acting like this?" I pleaded, "You're ruining the night."

"I'm ruining the night?" he growled. I gave him a warning squeeze. He needed to calm down. Now.

"You and Paul," he breathed out angrily. I switched our positions, now going back to when he first grabbed me to dance. My back against his chest, I took hold of his neck and let my hips move to the beat.

"We were just dancing. Relax Sam," I said. "It was a dance. I'm yours remember? You imprinted on me."

He nodded slowly calming down as he took hold of my hips.


	5. Chapter 5

Towards the end of the night, I got to take a slow song with Trent. Him and I talked about his next move with Mandy and his career.

"Think she really likes me?" he asked. "I know she had something going on with that other guy."

I nodded flashing him a smile, "Just you coming here was enough to win her over even more. Don't give up," I told him.

He nodded and smiled over at Mandy as she looked over us.

"I'll let you guys get to it," I smirked breaking away from Trent.

"Best night ever," Kim said to Sarah as they sat in the private area we had reserved.

"Hey guys," I said coming in to sit down and chill out for a little. I grabbed my drink, listening to the two interact.

"Bella, this is awesome. Seriously. I think I need to lighten up like this more often," Kim giggled as she sipped her beverage. I looked at the two amused. Clearly they were both a little tipsy.

"I am so getting some tonight," Sarah announced, swaying in her seat. Chucking, I got up. Too much information.

"Okay girls. I think you both have reached your limit of drinks," I said taking them away.

"Bella," Kim whined. "You need to lighten up. Its okay. We are sober."

I let out a laugh and moved the alcoholic beverages away. They seemed real clear-headed.

"Its cause he didn't mark you yet isn't it?" Sarah asked drunk. "She isn't getting any," she said to Kim with a knowing look. Kim nodded seeing that that was the solution.

"I am getting plenty. And…that's none of your business," I said a bit flustered. The two of them giggled drunkly at my expression.

"Its okay Bella. We know you haven't let him mark you yet. The boys told us," Kim said with a slur. I raised my eyebrows now intrigued. If the boys knew that meant Sam had been thinking about it when he was phased.

"But you know, it's a great feeling," Sarah said kindly.

"You've been marked?" I asked the two. They nodded. "I let Jared mark me a long time ago," she said now swaying a bit. "Jake marked me as soon as he was inside of me."

I made a gagging noise. Eww, I didn't need to know that. The two girls laughed even more. "Its okay Bella. Its natural," Kim said.

Pushing the nasty thought of Sarah and Jake out of my head, I went back to the whole marking thing. Was I really the only one who didn't give in?

"What's it like?" I asked randomly.

Both of the girls sighed, having this la la land look.

"It makes sex even more amazing," Sarah said. Kim giggled. "It hurts at first, but later, I don't know. There is just something about it." Kim had that same dreamy look at Sarah. Pulling myself together, I stood back up.

"Come on, let's go," I told the two. I held them both up and took them to the floor.

"Really Bella, you have nothing to be afraid of. It's okay to give in. It's nice."

"Okay," I said as we neared the guys. Praying they wouldn't bring it up again, I turned to Jake, Paul, Sam, Embry, and Jared. Leah must have been off dancing somewhere.

"You're girls are ready to go," I said to the two men as I pulled them from my shoulders.

"Jakey," Sarah said coming to him.

"Lets go hot stuff," Kim slurred. We all let out a laugh as Jared's cheeks flushed. They left seconds later.

"So where's Leah?" I asked. Embry pointed over to the big crowd and I stood up on my tiptoes to look. Shit. She had just about every guy in the club around her. I guess the moves she mimicked from me really did work to seduce a guy.

"Shoot," I said impressed at Leah. A few feet away were Trent and Mandy. They were dancing back to chest, looking like they were having the best time. I smiled at the couple. "And what are you guys just standing around for?" I wondered to the men.

"You, why are you standing around? I thought you would be long gone since Leah took all the men and left the girls behind." Paul smiled and then looked to Sam. I was guessing he had an alpha command on him or something.

"Go," I said. The perk to being Sam's imprint- I could command the guys just as easily. Paul shot me a thankful look and was off to show his moves to the ladies.

"And you?" I wondered to Embry. He held up his beer.

"That stops you from dancing?" I asked unimpressed. He shrugged. Shaking my head, I set his beer on the bar table and made him go find someone. "You look like a lump on a log. Go have fun." He took off, leaving just Sam behind.

"And you," I said with a huff. He pulled me to his chest, bringing us face to face. His eyes were filled with desire from the night.

"No more alpha commands to the guys tonight," I said playing with the buttons on Sam's shirt. I didn't want Paul to get in trouble for dancing with me. It was stupid.

Glancing up at his eyes, I ground my pelvis into his hard on. "Deal?" I asked sweetly. He moved his hands to cup my ass and rubbed himself against me.

"Dance floor," he commanded to me with a growl. I let out a laugh and guided him to the massive crowd of people.

"**What's my Name" by Rihanna** came on and we started grinding against each other. As I rolled my body against his, Sam grabbed my hips again. He pushed up hard against my backside, bringing his length down on my ass. He breathed his warm breath against the side of my face and continued his motions. I let out a small gasp-the feeling brought a tingling sensation at the pit of my stomach. Rolling my head back, he took full control. He moved our bodies while nipping at my neck.

"Sam," I moaned out. He let out a growl as I arched my back against him. Squeezing my sides, we continued our actions. Eventually, his hands began wandering up from the back of my thighs to my center.

"Sam," I warned out with a pant. We may have been 'dancing' but we were also still in public. Taking his hands as they continued to frisk me, I set them on my lower back, turning around to face him.

"Ready to go?" I asked with desire. His dark eyes swam into mine and he gave a single nod. Leading me out of the club in a rush, he pulled us into a dark alley. Pushing me up against the brick wall, his lips found my neck. He sucked hard, going everywhere, from my collarbone to my shoulder and up to my jawbone. I gasped as he brought my leg up to rub against him. The sexual tension was on full blast; I thought I was going to have a heart attack right there. Tugging on his short hair, I got him to pull his head up and kiss me.

The kiss was possessive and dominant. I knew I had been a tease for too long. Battling his tongue against mine, I let out a loud moan as he bit on my lower lip, tugging on it as he pulled away. His hands were going up and down my sides. My blue sequins shirt was pulled up as he ran his fingers over my silky smooth stomach.

"Sam," I gasped. His lips now ventured to the valley of my breasts. My shirt was low enough that he could easily tease me. Moaning, I felt his hands push up my skirt. God I needed him.

I slid my hands in his loosely buttoned shirt. Feeling his scorching skin against mine, I groaned. Moving my hands out from his shirt, I held onto his shoulders tightly as he thrusted against me. Damn it.

My fingers slid down to the button of his pants. Feeling how hard he was, I let my head tilt backwards. Just the thought of him being so close to me like this made me feel like I was going to explode.

Before I knew it, we were both panting, climaxing hard in each other. I gathered my breath as Sam held me against the wall. That was much needed. After we cleaned ourselves up a bit, I dragged Sam back into the club so we could say goodbye to Leah.

"Leah!" I called to as a bunch of guys grinded themselves against her.

She gave me a look and then sniffed the air. "Geez Bella, what you doing here? You just banged your man and you are back again?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sam and I are heading out," I yelled to her over the music. She nodded and gave me a wave. Keeping a hold of Sam's hand with mine, I led us through the crowd of people. Mandy and Trent had already left the club (cough cough).

As soon as Sam and I got back to his place, he had me pushed against the door, ready as ever to take me all over again.

* * *

><p>The next morning I woke up to my phone ringing. Rolling over, I smacked my hand on the nightstand looking for the device. Pete. It read.<p>

"Why are you calling so early?" I groaned somewhat hung over.

"Its 2 in the afternoon," he declared.

"Oh," I yawned out as I rolled on my back. Sam was still sleeping beside me.

"Look, again, I said I wouldn't be calling you if this wasn't important, but B.O.B and Haley from Paramore are thinking of doing a song together. Now they released this info to all writing artists. So whoever can come up with the best song, well, will obviously gets the money and the credit."

"Right," I said rubbing my eyes, "so you want me to create a song for both parts."

"Yes," he said confirming the obvious. "And it has to be done in a few days. Can you do it?"

"Define a few days?" I asked as Sam groaned beside me.

"3. At most."

I let out a huge sigh. Was he kidding me? I had to come up with lyrics that I had no idea what to write?

"Send me their tracks," I said and then hung up. Tossing my phone back on the table, I snuggled up to a naked Sam.

"More music?" he asked. I nodded keeping my eyes closed. We laid around for a little while longer before his stomach rumbled. Finding our moment to be over, I kept the thin white sheet around my body as I watched him get up and find his boxers. Our clothes were scattered everywhere. Finding his button up off to my side of the bed, I reached for it and slid it around me. His shirts were always the best. They stopped about mid thigh- always extra long on me.

"Hi," I said kissing his bare back as I snuck up behind him.

"I was going to bring you some food in bed," he said sneaking a glance to me over his shoulder.

"Its okay, I should get up anyways," I said moving to his fridge. He let out a growl as I bent over a bit. Rolling my eyes I grabbed the carton of orange juice and danced over to him.

"Did you just growl at me?" I asked stepping near him.

"Not particularly at you," he said bending down to kiss my neck. I withered in pleasure as his mouth came in contact with my skin.

"You have no idea how much I want to mark you," he complained as he held me tighter against him.

"I know," I said breathing. I ran my hands over his shoulder and through his hair to calm him down. Every time we had sex I felt his wolf want to claim me. He would suck a little too hard on a certain spot on my neck or get a little too aggressive as the tensions rose. But he held back knowing I wasn't ready. I admired him for that.

The shrill of my cell phone rang again and Sam growled. "I am going to crush that thing."

Pulling away from him, I let out a chuckle and went to go find it.

"Hello?" I asked walking back to the room where Sam was.

"Hey, am I allowed to come over now? Or are you and Sam still busy doing the dirty from last night?" Leah wondered. I let out a laugh as Sam swept me to him by the waist.

"I am going to guess your still doing the dirty," Leah said as I chuckled.

"No," I smiled. Sam was laying ticklish kisses on me. "You can come over whenever. Sam is just being…" I let out a laugh and moved away from him. His eyes were light and playful. "He's just being a goof," I claimed while keeping my distance.

"Okay, well ill be over in 20. Get dressed or whatever. I don't need to see you half naked modeling one of his shirts."

She hung up and I stared the phone like it was crazy. How did she know I would be in that? Closing the phone, I showed it to Sam as I shut it off. "See, no need to break it."

The wolves seemed to have an issue with my cellular device. The first time Paul crushed it against the counter at Charlie's. After that, Sam has thrown it across the room a few times when it has interrupted us being together, and well as for the rest of the boys, if it interrupted my time with them, the phone was surly to be crushed in numerous pieces. Trust me when I say I have gone through my share of phones these past years.

Sam rolled his eyes at me and dragged me closer to him again.

"I have to go get dressed. Leah is going to be over soon," I said staring at his gorgeous face.

"You are dressed," he grumbled dipping his head down to my neck as he slipped into his lust.

I pulled back with a smile. Shaking my head, I gave him a quick kiss on the mouth and sauntered off. "Somehow, she knew I would be modeling one of your shirts."

I kept my eyebrow raised at him knowing what it meant. He played scenes in the Pack's head of us having sex. Strolling back into the bedroom, I took out a spare outfit of mine I had kept here for emergencies and changed before Leah would arrive.

"Knock knock!" her voice rang out in the house.

"In here," I yelled to the bedroom. After getting dressed, I picked up all of our scattered clothes and changed the sheets. "God, you guys really did the tango," she said scrunching up her nose at the stench.

"Shut up," I groused as I went to put everything in the wash.

"So what can I do for you?" I wondered as she followed me.

"Besides getting me into another club like that? Damn, I think I had the best lay of my life last night."

"Lovely," I said partially disgusted. It reminded me of the visuals Sarah and Kim were blabbing about.

We talked for a little while longer before going back into the kitchen to join Sam.

"Yum," Leah said taking some bacon from the plate Sam made me. He growled at her and I smacked his chest.

"What are you even doing here Leah?" Sam asked as we all sat down.

"Waiting for to Quil to get his furry butt here so we can go on Patrol. He said to have me meet him here. I think he was bringing Claire."

"Say what?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I'm just the messenger."

Quil and Claire came stepping into the house a little later. "Isabelly!" she squealed with delight.

"Hey Claire bear," I said in surprise. She ran over to hug me and I picked her up. Offering her some food from my plate, we sat together and I waited for an explanation from Quil.

"Well, Claire and I were hanging out all day yesterday and today. And well…she brought up your promise and since it is Sunday…" Quil said with a hand on his neck. I raised my eyebrows. That was his excuse? He couldn't have given me the heads up.

"Okay," I said accepting it. Claire was already here. There was not much I could do. Both Quil and Leah left a few minutes later leaving Claire with Sam and I.

"So what should we do today?" I asked the little girl on my lap.

"Can we go to the beach?" She asked excitedly. "Oh and can we make a fort? I like to make forts."

Sam and I chuckled. "Sure Claire Bear. Well you finish up my breakfast okay? I will be right back."

Getting up and leaving the room for a few minutes, I headed to the bathroom and scooped up my hair. Swinging it into a ponytail, I made sure I didn't miss any little hairs and then went to grab my bathing suit.

I was supposed to be working today. With this next big break coming I should be at the Cullens house. Plus, I hated to admit it but I was still a bit hung over.

Grabbing my bikini, I went back into the bathroom and pulled out some aspirin.

"You okay?" Sam asked. I jumped, turning to him startled.

"Shit, how did you do that? I didn't even hear you," I said looking at him wildly. Usually he would announce his presence with his heavy footsteps or I could feel it, but I didn't hear or feel anything.

He raised his eyebrow at me.

"I'm recovering from the hangover," I said popping the bottle cap open and taking two pills out.

"Where's Claire?" I asked looking at him in the mirror.

"Finishing your food," he said still watching me. I nodded and leaned on the counter.

"Isabelly!" she called coming into the room.

"In here Claire Bear," I said loudly. She came in with a piece of bacon in her little hands, munching on it from time to time.

"You done?" I asked her. She nodded. "Well let's get you changed then. Did Quil bring your bathing suit?"

She shook her head no and I sighed. That man.

"Alright, well I guess you can swim in your clothes? Lets see if we can grab you something for afterward," I said taking her somewhat greasy hand. Looking through my duffle bag, I found a tank top. It was long enough to fit her a dress. It would have to do. Making sure to keep it out I smiled at her.

"Go put your plate on the counter. And put some of this on okay?" I commanded, handing her a bottle of sunscreen. "I will be right out and we can go."

Nodding she scurried off and I was left with Sam again.

"You coming with us?" I asked pulling down my pants to change. I could feel his stare burning into my skin as I stripped.

"I have some things to do around here. I need to catch up on some paperwork for the station, but I'll cook up some dinner when you guys get back," he said still watching me.

"Did you think you would have a choice in doing that?" I grinned to him. I had promised the little girl after all that Sam and Quil would cook us dinner. I tugged my shirt over my head; his gaze was full of lust. Sauntering over to me, he silently had me turn around to tie my suit.

Finishing the knot, he moved his hands down my sides, caressing my body.

"I'll see you later then?" I breathed as he pushed my backside onto his hard on.

"Mmhmm," he said taking full advantage of the access to my neck.

"Sam, we have a guest," I said while enjoying his warmth and the way he nipped at my neck.

"Isabelly!" Claire yelled. Sighing, I pulled away from my boyfriend and grabbed his shirt from this morning.

"Love you," I mumbled as I kissed him. Moving away, I stopped in the hallway to grab Claire and I each a towel.

"Ready?" I asked. She smelt like sunscreen and had pulled her hair up like mine, smiling brightly. Nodding, I took her hand and we were out the door.

* * *

><p>We got to the beach quicker than I had expected. She was a jolly little girl for her age. She couldn't stop bouncing and skipping all the way there.<p>

Throwing down the towels on the sand, I quickly pulled off my shoes and took my hair out of a ponytail as we ran for the water.

She laughed as squealed at how cold the water is.

"No Isabelly!" she shrieked as I scooped her up in my arms and ran into the ice-cold water. We laughed together when we became fully emerged in the waves.

"Its cold," she said holding onto me.

"It is," I smiled bouncing us up and down as I swam further in.

"You wanna swim?" I asked now treading water. She gave me an indecisive look.

"I'll hold onto you okay? You just kick and blow bubbles."

Nodding, I positioned her on her stomach and she went crazy. By the time she wanted to stop I was dripping wet with her motorized legs. She made quite the splash.

She giggled at my appearance. Teasing her, I made an obvious intake a breath so she would follow my lead and I sank us both under.

"Isabelly!" she yelped again as we came up for air. She brushed the hair away from her face and beamed at me. Playing in the water for maybe an hour more, it was finally too cold for the both of us and we got out.

I wrapped a towel around her before doing the same for myself. Hugging myself to her, I made sure she was warm. Standing back up, I put on Sam's shirt and listened to Claire talk.

"Can we go to…"

I zoned out from her voice as I felt the hairs on my back of my neck stand up. Something wasn't right. Taking her hand tightly in mine, I let my heart beat quicken.

"Come on Claire, time to go home." I said still looking all around. What was wrong? Why was I on such an alert?

"But Isabelly," she complained. Kneeling down, I moved some hair form her eyes. "Come on Claire. Something isn't right. And we have to go see Quil remember? He and Sam have to cook us food."

Looking in my eyes, she glanced behind me and nodded stiffly. Making sure I had her hand, I swept my eyes around the beach one last time before taking off.

We reached the front of Sam's house just a little ways away and I breathed relief. Anyone who was or is following us would have definitely stopped when they saw the house.

Walking in the door, Claire went off to give Quil a big hug. Patrol shift must have changed since the two were now back in the house with Sam.

"Hey, I was just about to come visit you guys," Leah said looking at us girls. I went straight for Sam, still taking a look back outside.

"You okay?" he asked on alert. My body was tense and stiff.

"I think someone was watching us on the beach. Or someone nearby," I said shaking a bit. I was cold not afraid. Wrapping his arms around me, I let my icy body warm up to his heat.

"Leah go check it out, and make sure Paul goes with you," he said as Quil was now back in his own little world with Claire. He had the instinct to protect her, keep her safe. Paul must have been the one on patrol now. Nodding Leah was off giving me the best comforting look possible. It didn't matter though; I was a bit shaken up.

"What happened baby?" he asked as he hugged me. I shook my head against his chest. Maybe I was just being paranoid.

"I swear someone was there. One minute I was listening to Claire tell me what she wanted to do next and then I was on full alert for something. I don't know Sam. I couldn't see anyone but I think it was a vampire," I whispered out at the end. He held me tighter, obviously suppressing a growl so he didn't scare little Claire.

Quil gave us a look and then moved Claire into the living room.

"You okay though? You sure you didn't see anything?" he asked now pulling away so he could look at me. I nodded. I was sure…wasn't I?

"I don't know," I said a bit worried. Looking down, I tried to rewind and go over everything I saw. Claire was laughing, we rushed out of the water to grab our towels, I hugged her, she looked up at me and started talking, and then I was looking around. What was it that made me freak?

"Bella? Sorry guys," Quil said clearly reading Sam's irritated look as he interrupted us. "Do you have any warm clothes for Claire? She is starting to shiver."

Nodding, I swallowed hard and pulled away from Sam. I waited for Claire to slide off the couch and follow me. We walked into Sam's bedroom and I shut the door.

"Here you go," I said kneeling down. We took the towel off her shoulders and I helped her get her sticky clothes off. Sliding my tank top over her head, I smiled as it fit her like a dress- just how I had thought.

Tugging at the rubber band in her hair, I gently unwound it and dried her hair.

"You okay now? Warmer?" I asked. She nodded giving me a small smile. It didn't reach her eyes though.

"We are okay," I said with a forced smile. She was worried and shaken up. A little girl like that shouldn't have to fret or be scared yet.

"I'm sorry if I freaked you out back there. We are okay though okay Claire. We have nothing to be worried about; we are safe."

"Do you think that lady will come back?" she whispered frightened. My eyes widened. She saw someone.

"What lady Claire?" I asked with urgency.

"The lady behind you," she said softly. "She was in the trees."

Letting my heart race, my mind went on over drive. There was a lady? What did she look like? Was there just one? Did the woman say anything to her?

Snapping back up to look at her, she just waited for my answer terror.

"She is never coming back," I said in a hard tone. "She is long gone Claire. I am never going to let anyone hurt you, and neither is anyone else okay?"

She nodded. Hugging her, I kissed her forehead. "Why don't you go out and join Quil again okay? I will be right there."

Hesitantly, she made her way back to the door and outside. After I watched it close, I sat back on the floor. I felt like I was being watched because I was- someone was right behind me the whole time.

I swear I had looked; that I had swept the whole area. What if the woman was to attack us? What if I she attacked Claire or I been bitten? What would have happened? I sat there thinking everything over practically curled in a ball. What would I have done? What was the vampire even doing?

I covered my face with my hands. I could have lost Claire. I was responsible for that girl. Why couldn't I see it? Why _**didn't**_ I see it?

Running my hands through my hair, I focused on the floor. My head was running through all the possibilities that could have happened. The way Claire didn't argue with me when I told her we had to leave. It was because she was scared. I didn't pick up on that. _**Why**_ hadn't I?

A hand reached out in front of my face and Sam kneeled down. He kept it stretched out, waiting for me to take it. Not saying a word, I wiped a tear that rolled down my cheek and stood up with his help. As much as I needed his comfort, I didn't want it. I should be independent. I should be observant and watchful. I should know what to do in a situation like the one I was just in. But I wasn't.

Walking into the bathroom, I grabbed a towel to dry my dripping hair. I should have seen it. I should have seen _**her**_.

Standing in front of the mirror, I replayed the scenes over and over. I ran with Claire into the water. I helped her swim; we went deeper, her holding onto me as I tread the waves. We splashed and played. We came out.

Pausing my thoughts there, I tried to think of everything I saw. I remember looking at the scene around us. Did I see something? Hear something? Feel something?

"Sam, Bella," Leah's voice called through the door.

"Yea?" I asked strained.

"You can come in Leah," Sam said sitting on the bed with his elbows on his knees watching me.

"We picked up a scent but nothing to indicate the bloodsucker was overly close to you guys," she said looking me over. Going back to Sam, she finished her report. "The scent isn't even on the beach, it's just over the edges of the woods."

Sam nodded and the two turned to look at me. I was still standing at the counter with the bathroom door open. The towel was now limp in my hand. Think Bella, the woods. I dropped our stuff. Where did I drop everything? Was it by the woods?

"I want to retrace my steps," my voice cracked. I could feel them both looking at me, but I didn't let it bother me. Was she there when I set my things down? Did I lead Claire into danger? Was this my fault?

"I'll go with you," Leah pitched in.

"I got it," Sam said. Nodding, she gave me one last look before leaving the room and shutting the door.

"Let me get changed," I said now moving from the bathroom. I went to look my bag, which was behind him on the bed. Sam didn't move from his place, he just turned his head to keep his eyes on me.

I searched and searched for things but I couldn't find anything I wanted to wear. I knew I was feeling like this because I was overwhelmed. I felt responsible and scared. There were so many emotions running through me, I didn't know which one to deal with first.

Finally pulling out whatever my hands grabbed, I started unbuttoning Sam's shirt I took this morning. Changing quickly, I found myself looking into the bathroom mirror again. Why was I standing here? I could be dead. I _**should**_ be dead. The vampire could have easily killed me. Why not?

Distracting myself from everything I was thinking, I unzipped my small bag of makeup I didn't even remember bringing back into the bathroom, and started applying some of the stuff lightly.

When I was satisfied on how I looked, I cleaned everything back up and shut off the light. I could do this. I had to. For Claire and myself. Walking to the door, I noticed Sam getting up to follow me. We walked outside to see Leah, Paul, Claire and Quil all sitting around.

"The rest of the guys should be here in a few," Paul said looking at us. I nodded and Claire just sat on the couch catatonic.

"She hasn't moved since she got back from changing," Quil said watching my gaze at the little girl. I walked over to her, bending down as she sat beside Quil.

"Remember what I said?" I asked her cupping the side of her face. Her eyes drifted to my face. Her little head gave the smallest of nods.

"Good," I claimed getting up. Moving back to the door, I went to go fix this.

"Wait!" she exclaimed getting off the couch and running towards me. "Where are you going Isabelly? You can't leave!" she said panicked. Her strength around my legs made me stumble a bit so I held onto the back of the door.

I rubbed her back soothing her. There was nothing I could say to stop her fears. They were mine too.

"I made you a promise," I said folding my body over to take hold of the little girl.

"Please don't leave," she said attaching herself to my neck now. Everyone was giving us stares. I wasn't sure what to do.

Going to sit back on the couch, I took in a deep breath. "Claire?" I asked softly. She hesitantly looked up at me. "What did she look like?" I asked.

Letting fear glaze her eyes, I rubbed my thumb over the side of her face. "Its okay," I whispered.

"She had yellow hair," Claire whispered. "And she was watching us. She was looking at you," she said even more soft.

"What color were her eyes?" I asked trying to hide the fear in my voice. Her forehead creased. "They were dark," she replied after a while. My stomach dropped. Whoever 'she' was, was a hungry vampire.

"Okay good. You think you can sit with Quil for a bit?"

She nodded, watching me with alert as she moved to him. "I am going to the beach, but I am going to take Sam with me okay?" I said reading the terror on her face.

"Please don't go," she whispered again looking at Sam and I.

"We're gunna be okay," I said. "She's not coming anywhere near you again. Remember when I said that?"

She buried her head in Quil and nodded. "Do you trust me?" I wondered, pushing some hair away from her pretty eyes. "Yea," she breathed.

"Then I will be right back. Why don't you start making some food with Quil?" I said with a forced smile. Standing up, I continued to bring her comfort. "Everyone else should be here soon so you can put all of them to work."

"All of them?" she asked with raised eyebrows. Her head was starting to come out from Quil's large protective body. I nodded. "And if they don't listen. You tell them I said so."

She gave me a small smile that reached her shining eyes. Slipping down from Quil, she had me squat down and pecked a kiss on my cheek.

"I love you," she said with the most sincerest face.

"I love you too. Don't you worry. I will be back before you know it," I said with my heart clenching. She was so afraid. It made me sick. Nodding, she went back over to Quil and I went outside, not even stopping to look at everyone.


	6. Chapter 6

Taking the same path I did when I was with Claire just hours ago, I went through my actions. Here was where I dropped our towels and took off my shoes. Looking up, I twirled around slowly. I wasn't too far from the woods, but was quite a ways on the sandy beach. Going towards the edge of the water, I envisioned Claire and I playing. We started here, swam back a bit, but still ended up walking back up here in this spot.

Sam kept his distance while watching me. He kept quiet with his hands behind his back.

Thinking back over to when Claire and I got out of the water, I followed my visions from my head. I watched as she ran through the sand to get her towel, following behind by just a small distance.

I ran my hands up and down her toweled body and stood up to grab mine. Stopping my thoughts, I looked up from what I was standing. This wasn't the spot where I had first started. I was closer to the woods. But how did our things move? Leah and Paul didn't find her scent on the beach.

Swallowing hard, I ran my hands through my hair. I was getting nervous. Breathe Bella, I kept thinking.

Bending down, I went through the invisible actions. Setting myself down in Claire's position, I tried to think what she would see. I was standing, looking down at her while she talked. Then I tore my eyes away to look around the beach.

Standing up, I went to where I was once standing. I took in the view again, where I had felt someone watching us. I didn't look back. I didn't once turn around to see if someone was behind us. Getting frustrated with myself, I turned and stood back to where Claire's position was. She had an easy view of the vampire if she looked over my shoulder. I had bent down to tell her we had to go. Why didn't she say anything to me?

"Bella?" Sam called as I stayed squatting in the sand with tears filling my eyes.

"She had a clear view of the vampire over my shoulder," I said getting up. "I had kneeled down to tell Claire we had to go and…she probably spotted her."

Sam nodded and then hesitantly went closer to me. He put a finger under my chin and tilted my face to look up at him. "We are going to get the bloodsucker. _**I**_ am going to get her," he declared. Nodding, I leaned my body forward seeking comfort in his chest. He kissed my head repeatedly as his hands went up and down my sides. After a while, he shifted us so his arm was around my shoulder. Keeping me tucked beside him, he guided us back to his place.

We opened the door and were met with a crowd. The house was jammed.

Going back to seek out Claire, I found her coloring with Quil and Embry.

"Claire," I asked bending down to look at her. The three turned their attention to me.

"Did the lady do anything? Or say anything to you?" I wondered. She watched me nervously. "Its okay Claire Bear, I just want to know," I asked.

"She went like this," Claire said putting a finger over her lips. My blood ran cold and I nodded. "That's great sweetie. Thank you."

She smiled at me and then went back to coloring.

"What does that mean?" I asked to Paul as I saw him watching me from the doorway.

"It means we are going to get the leech," Paul said with comfort. Staying silent, I felt him put a hand on my shoulder and then walk into the room and join the little girl and his brothers.

"Bella, you okay?" Letty asked coming towards me. She put a comforting hand on my elbow, rubbing it ever so slightly. Nodding, I looked away. Tears were blurring my vision again. Suck it up Bella!

"Oh honey," she said pulling me into her arms.

"I'm okay, really," I said wiping my hands over my face. I felt Sam's gaze on me, so I excused myself from Letty.

He was leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed.

"Hi," I said standing in front of him. I wasn't sure what brought me here. My body craved his comfort but my mind wanted him to push him away and he knew that.

"Sam," I breathed nervously as I finally looked up at him. He gave me his ever so patient look.

"Our stuff was moved-from when we were on the beach," I clarified. His body went ridged. Glancing over at Leah, he nodded out back. Getting the message, she grabbed Paul and waited for the two of us.

"Come on," he said softly as he guided us both out there. When we were safely outside I looked at the three. No one was talking or even waiting to hear a word. The silence made me antsy. Wrapping my arms around myself, I tried to push off the feeling of being scared. It was ridiculous to be.

"Her stuff was moved," Sam finally said to the two. Both Paul and Leah got confused.

"How?" Paul asked.

"That's what I would like to know," Sam growled. Sucking in a breath, I tried not to show emotion. He was doing his alpha thing right now, I needed to keep it together. Flashing a glance at me, I continued to stare at the floor.

"Bella?" Leah asked softly.

"When I retraced my steps…" I gulped, "I didn't end up back at the same place I started. We were closer to the woods."

Sam let out a growl along with Paul. My heart thudded against my chest hard. Why didn't I see that?

"You're sure the vampire didn't go past the woods?" Sam asked. They both nodded.

"We could sniff their things to see if the leeches scent is on there," Paul pitched. I shook my head, "Our scents would be masking it. Claire was wrapped in the towel, which is now wet and I used Sam's shirt from last night as a cover up. There is no way you will be able to get anything off of it."

They all sighed. I was right. The vampire's scent wouldn't be stronger than all of those.

"Isabelly!" Claire's voice shouted. Immediately I turned to look for the girl, she was running out with Embry behind her.

"The boys wont listen. They aren't cooking," she explained to me. I looked over at Embry and he gave all of us a sheepish smile.

"Alright, come on," I said taking her hand. Letting Sam go back to his business with the two, I went back inside to help cook.

"No," Claire said pushing Kim and Sarah away from the stove.

"Claire," I said with a bite. She looked at me sad. "Be nice okay?" I said in a softer tone. She nodded.

"Guys, go on," I said silently tell them to stop cooking and get out of the kitchen.

"Bella, we don't mind," Sarah said with uncooked noodles in her hand.

"I know," I sighed tiredly, "but I promised Claire the guys would cook tonight."

"In other words we are going to die of food poisoning tonight," Kim said jokingly. I forced a smile. Claire dragged Quil's hand to where Kim and Sarah were standing. Giving him the uncooked noodles, Sarah stepped back and went to sit on Jake's lap. Looking over at the couple, Jake gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Just break them and dump 'em in there," Kim instructed. Doing what he was told, he set the noodles in the boiling pot waiting for them to cook.

"How's that?" he asked Claire, sweeping her up in his arms.

"Good," she smiled at him. Giving her a kiss on the nose, she let out a little giggle.

From there, the rest of the night went pretty smooth. For the most part, I could push my emotions aside and function, but who knew how long it would actually last. The men cooked dinner as promised. I was surprised when were all served so much food. Quil took Claire after that and I knew the man wouldn't be returning to rejoin the party. Today was a rough day. He needed to be with her.

My thoughts were interrupted as I felt Embry give me a hug. "Stop worrying. We will get the vamp."

Nodding, I watched everyone shuffle out the door. When they were all gone, I realized it was just Sam and I again.

"I should get my stuff," I spoke softly turning back to the bedroom. My arms were around my body again, almost protecting it from falling apart. Going to make sure everything was in my duffle bag, I felt Sam behind me.

"Don't leave," he breathed wrapping his own arms around me.

"I have to, Charlie should be back," I said shaky.

"Tell him you are staying here for the night."

"Sam," I breathed. As much as I wanted to be with him-to have him hold me and comfort me, I knew once I finally broke, it would all come crashing down. I tried to stay in my own bubble acting like everything from today was all a dream and that it didn't happen. And so far, it wasn't too bad.

"Stay," he commanded. I turned in his arms and stared at his hard chest. He bent his knees, looking into my eyes. Biting my lip, he leaned in giving me a strong kiss. I let out a sigh as we broke. I was going to have to face the truth one day or another.

Nodding, I laid my head on his chest, melting in his arms. Calling Charlie a while later, I told him I would stay at Sam's for the night. It didn't exactly fly with him, but he gave me his approval nonetheless.

As I pulled back the covers to get into bed, I found him watching me.

"What?" I asked as he brushed his teeth. Spiting out the foam, I slid into bed and lay on my side. The bed always felt cold without him. He joined me a few minutes later, hugging me close to his bare chest.

"I love you," he told me kissing me again. This time, the kiss was light and loving.

"Love you too," I said rubbing his face with my fingers. Our skin color was so different. His was dark while mine was so pale and light. Sometimes I just marveled at the fact we found each other (or well…the imprint did). How could we be so perfect for each other when we were so different?

A hand slid up my tank top, brushing my stomach lightly. Glancing back up at Sam I snuggled in his chest and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>I was on the beach with Claire. We were swimming in the water splashing each other. But then everything got dark. The clouds flooded the clear sky and it started to thunder.<p>

"Bella," Claire said in a tiny voice. I looked all around. A football field away was the vampire Claire saw. Gasping, I immediately grabbed the little girl I knew I had to protect and got to shore. Running to get our stuff, I found it was gone. Panicked, I kept Claire's hand in mine and we ran.

"Looking for these?" the blond haired vampire asked holding our things up. She gave me a smirk, her eyes dark and red as she stood in front of us.

* * *

><p>I shot up in bed gasping. It was just a dream. It wasn't real. Glancing over at my bed partner, I found his spot empty. Hmm, that was weird. Where was he? Stumbling out of bed, I made my way through the house and into the kitchen. The house was dark and cold. Only the moon shined through the windows.<p>

Hearing a noise coming form the backyard, I went out to check it out. Pushing the screen door, I gasped as I found Sam. "Get back inside Isabella!" He commanded with harsh, bitter eyes and then ran for the woods. The sky was now dark, thundering heavily. Ignoring his command, I ran through the woods to catch up to him. He couldn't leave me there. I needed him.

Stopping in the middle of the forest, he turned back to me. His body was now shaking heavily. "This is all your fault," he growled out.

"What?" I asked with hurt.

"You should have kept Claire safe," he growled. A rush of pain ran through me. My mind was telling me Claire was dead. I had failed her. Before I could step closer to apologize and seek his comfort, a blur threw him back into a tree and he slumped to the floor dead.

"No," I cried out in anguish.

"You're next," The vampire said moving fast behind me with a hand on my neck.

* * *

><p>Something was holding me down as I thrashed around in the bed trying to get up. As I hit what ever it was to get away, shaking like a leaf, I shot up again and moved away. I was sweaty and practically in hysterics from what I was just saw. He was dead. He was…<p>

"Bella!" Sam said in a concerned voice. Letting the pain throb in my heart, I pushed away the heavy arms and fell out of bed. My butt fell to the ground with a hard thud.

"No," I said clearly shaken up. Was this real? What happened? Where was I?

"Bella," Sam said softly. I shook my head and backed away, curling myself into a ball. Now against the wall, where the window was, I cried. Sam was gone. I was dreaming again, this was all my fault.

Hands touched me and I held myself tighter.

"Its me," the voice breathed with worry. I cried out in pain. "No, no, no, no," I repeated. I didn't have Sam anymore. This man in front of me wasn't mine. I didn't want a replica, I wanted my own Sam- and he was gone. A hand ran through my hair-just like the real Sam used to. He repeated the motion. Now uncertain, I looked up. It was Sam. He was here. My Sam.

I jumped into his arms and sobbed. "I… s-should-dn't have… t-taken her," I cried out, struggling to breathe. He hugged me tightly, rocking me back and forth. "I-Its… all… m-m-y fault."

"Bella, what are you talking about?" He asked pulling back. "Nothing is your fault baby, please," he said pushing my hair away from my wet sticky face as I continuously turned away from him. I felt so guilty and heavy with pain. My dream shook me to the core and I let out another painful sob.

"Its okay. Claire is okay," he said trying to get me to look at him. I shook my head, still frenzied. No she wasn't. She was my responsibility. I was supposed to look out for her. I was supposed to be strong.

"Bella, you have to breathe," he said as my vision started to get spotty. I felt like my lungs had clenched together, shrinking so tiny that I barely suck in oxygen.

"Bella," he commanded making me look at him. "You are safe."

Hearing those words, I watched him take calm deep breaths of his own. I was okay. I was here, with Sam. He wasn't blaming me for anything. He wasn't running off to the woods and Claire wasn't dead. She wasn't gone and we weren't near any vampire.

Scooping me up, he brought us back to bed. I shivered and he held me close. I calmed down in his arms. It felt so real though. The cold hand on my throat. His vacant spot on the bed next to me. The look he had given me in the woods.

Eventually, I had fallen back to sleep with him, praying I would wake up again sane.

* * *

><p>My eyes hurt. Correction, my whole face hurt. Everything felt tight and my head was pounding. Trying to get my bearings together, I felt overly warm. Pushing my eyelids open, I found myself curled in russet colored arms.<p>

Taking slow deep breaths, I looked up. Sam was staring at me, ready for another freak attack I could possibly have. He was still here. I wasn't dreaming.

Waking up some more, I thought of what happened last night. I completely and utterly spazed.

"How long have you been up?" I croaked pulling some hair away. I tried to slide out of his arms and away from him, but he just held me tighter on his lap.

"A while."

Smacking my lips together, I held back my anguish. "I'm sorry," I breathed out. He shook his head, kissing my hair.

I stayed in his arms just trying to gather everything. How had I let this happen? I was strong. Kissing his chest lightly, I detached myself from him and padded to the bathroom. Get my head back in the game. That was my goal. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail, now grabbing my toothbrush to brush my teeth.

Sighing into the mirror when I was done, I stared at myself. Nothing had happened last night except for my freak attack. Going back to my duffle bag, I went to get some clothes so I could start the day. I needed a shower. My head needed to clear of these ridiculous thoughts.

"Let me," Sam breathed against me as I stood over the bag. He wanted to join me in the shower- he was asking for permission. Nodding, I took his hands and led him to the bathroom. I felt everything go in slow motion. It was like I wasn't all here. One minute we were pealing each other's clothes off and the next we were standing under the warm spray of the shower.

He nipped at my shoulder, rubbing his hands over my stomach and waist. Everything had felt so much more raw when I was naked with Sam. He made me feel things, things that I always tried to block out. He made sure I couldn't run anywhere except his arms.

Turning to face him, I snuggled in his chest as he ran his hands up and down my back.

"Whatever happened last night, it wasn't because I didn't want you," I said. I had felt his guilt and sadness. I could finally place that it wasn't mine. And remembering my actions last night, I could pretty much tell what he was thinking. I had pulled away from him- I had said no when he tried to touch me.

"I just-…I thought you were dead," I breathed in confession. He froze and held me tighter against him.

"I swear you were dead. You just- you didn't…" I tried to piece it into words, but I couldn't find any. He was so mad at me. His hatred in his eyes; the way he ran away from me. He didn't want me. He blamed me. And then he died. "And then Claire…"

"Claire isn't dead," he said in a strong voice. "She is okay, because of you," he said.

I shook my head. "No, she was in danger because of me," I said.

"Bella," he said pulling my head up to look at him.

"You're okay. You both are okay. Nothing is going to happen." His eyes searched mine. "Trust me," he said. Finding nothing but a plea, I nodded my head and brought him down to kiss me.

"Just don't leave me okay?" I asked putting my head back on his chest, right where his heart was. "I can't-… I can't handle if you leave me."

He nodded, promising to never leave me.

Judging by how the rest of the day went, I could tell he was worried about me. We never stayed too far away from each other. I had made sure to check every so often to make sure I still wasn't dreaming. Nothing in my dream had come true or was real.

"I love you," he whispered as we were cuddled on the couch watching TV.

"I love you too," I smiled nuzzling closer to him. Our whole day was full of hugs and passionate kisses. There was nothing I wanted more than just to make sure he was mine.

"Yo Sam!" someone yelled as they walked into the house. I went stiff for a second, but relaxed as Sam rubbed my arms.

"Oh hey Bells," Jake said looking at us. "You two okay?"

I nodded, trying my hardest to put on a smile.

"What happened?" he asked reading our faces.

"Nothing," I cracked out. Sam held me tighter.

"Okay, well…dude," Jake said now looking at the alpha. "You're missing your patrol. Paul is covering for you but he doesn't seem too happy."

Sam let out a growl and I tried to stop my heart from racing. In all honesty I didn't want him to leave me. I was still afraid. But I had to suck it up.

"Its okay," I breathed as I turned to the love of my life.

"You should go. I'll be okay. I need to get home anyways," I told him as I started pulling away. He drew me to him tighter. Avoiding his eyes, I tried my hardest to get him to leave the couch.

"You have to go. It's okay," I said turning to him.

He pulled my face to look at him, but I kept my eyes away.

"Please go okay?" I asked. Trying all of what he could, he brushed hair away from my face, he cupped my cheek and he even nipped at my ear to get me to look at him. I wanted to so bad too. But I knew he would read me like a book. He would see that I was uncomfortable with the fact he was leaving. And then he wouldn't go.

Giving him a kiss to the lips, I stood up and went to get my bag.

When I came back out to the main room, I saw Jake just looking at the two of us.

"Stop giving me that look Jake," I said knowing Sam had told him what went on last night.

"Go," I told Sam as he walked over to grab me again. "Ill see you later."

Letting my body melt to his one last time, I kissed his neck and went for the door.

"Need a ride Bells?" Jake wondered. I shook my head putting on my shoes. "I have my truck."

He nodded, the two of them following me out the door.

"Stop," I said to both of them again. "Please stop giving me those looks. I'm okay. I will be fine. Please just…lets go on with life okay?" I asked the two.

They both nodded. Walking backwards, I turned to my truck and shoved my things in.

"Love you," Sam said waiting to shut my door for me.

"I love you too," I mumbled kissing him deeply before starting my car. He closed the door gently and watched me leave before phasing in the woods.

As I was on the road, I let out a breath. What a life….


	7. Chapter 7

When I got home, I walked in the door and found Charlie. He was watching the game with Billy.

"Hey Bella," Billy said as I stepped in the room.

"Hey Uncle Billy," I smiled.

"Hey dad," I said kissing his cheek.

"I heard what happened," he said as I walked out of the room. I froze.

"I'm proud of you Bells," he said. "You're strong."

Swallowing hard, I nodded and smiled. Uncle Billy caught my eyes. He was giving me a nod of his own, almost saying 'believe it because it's true'.

Leaving the room again, I headed upstairs. I needed to unpack and start working on that song for Pete.

After throwing everything in my laundry basket, I grabbed my mail that Pete had sent with their tracks and put it in my computer. I listened to their songs and style. Picking up some paper, I went to my bed and began working.

I got the girl part down. It wasn't too hard to be truthful. Hayley from Paramore was a really good singer. I liked her voice. But B.O.B was a different story. It was like I was walking into another music dimension with rapping. Sighing, I grabbed the keys to the Cullen's house and went to go to the music studio they built for me.

Just as I opened the door, I saw Quil standing on the porch getting ready to knock.

"Oh, hey," I said with a pad of paper and a pencil in my hand.

"Hey Bella," he said watching as I shut the door behind me.

"Are you going somewhere?" he wondered. I nodded, "I have to compose this song for some people, so I was heading to the Cullen's. Did you want to join me?" I asked.

He scrunched up his face but followed me to his truck.

"You don't have to. I just have to figure out this rapping section of the song."

"Rap?" he asked with his ears perking up. I nodded and started the car. Hopping in, he sat there with me as I went to the mansion.

"So what's up?" I wondered, breaking the silence in the car.

"I know you probably don't want to hear this, but, I want to thank you for yesterday."

"Thank me?" I asked glancing over at him. He nodded.

"You made sure Claire was safe. I don't know what I would do if…"

I gulped. He didn't have to finish that sentence. So badly I wanted to ask why he was thanking me. He had nothing to thank me for. He should be blaming me.

Before I could say anything though, we pulled up to the Cullens and he hopped out.

"So this rapping thing," he said following me upstairs.

"Don't laugh okay? But I really have no experience in the rapping area. So… I have to figure something out."

He let out a chuckle and I glared at him.

"I can help," he volunteered.

"Really?" I asked surprised. He nodded. "Who is it for?"

"B.O.B and Hayley Williams from Paramore."

His eyes bugged out of his sockets and he immediately took my pad of paper.

"Interesting," he said reading it over.

"Yea, I was thinking it would go something like this," I said starting with the keyboard. Pressing a few buttons, I added a clapping beat.

"Okay, hold on," he said looking around for a pencil. Grabbing a pen he found on the ledge, he began writing out a few parts.

"I like that," I smiled as he continued. Listening to the beat, I played a few starting keys and went over the song. As I sang the Hayley's part, Quil pitched in rapping B.O.B's.

_**("Airplanes" by B.O.B and Hayley Williams)**_

_Can we pretend that airplanes  
>In the night sky<br>Are like shooting stars?  
>I could really use a wish right now<br>Wish right now  
>Wish right now<br>Can we pretend that airplanes  
>In the night sky<br>Are like shooting stars?  
>I could really use a wish right now<br>Wish right now  
>Wish right now<em>

_[Verse 1: B.O.B]_

_Yeah, I could use a dream or a genie or a wish  
>To go back to a place much simpler than this<br>'Cause after all the partyin' and smashin' and crashin'  
><em>_And all the glitz and the glam and the fashion  
>And all the pandemonium and all the madness<br>There comes a time where you fade to the blackness  
>And when you starin' at that phone in your lap<br>And you hopin' but them people never call you back  
>But that's just how the story unfolds<br>You get another hand soon after you fold  
>And when your plans unravel in the sand<br>What would you wish for if you had one chance?  
>So airplane, airplane, sorry I'm late<br>I'm on my way so don't close that gate  
>If I don't make that then I'll switch my flight<br>And I'll be right back at it by the end of the night_

[Chorus: Hayley Williams (B.O.B)]  
>Can we pretend that airplanes<br>In the night sky  
>Are like shooting stars? (Shooting stars)<br>I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)  
>Wish right now (Wish right now)<br>Wish right now (Wish right now)Can we pretend that airplanes  
>In the night sky<br>Are like shooting stars? (Shooting Stars)  
>I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)<br>Wish right now (Wish right now)  
>Wish right now (Wish right now)<p>

[Verse 2: B.o.B]  
>Ya, ya, somebody take me back to the days<br>Befo' this was a job, befo' I got paid  
>Befo' it ever mattered what I had in my bank<br>Ya, back when I was tryin' to get a tip at Subway  
>And back when I was rappin' for the hell of it<br>But nowadays we rappin' to stay relevant  
>I'm guessin' that if we can make some wishes outta' airplanes<br>Then maybe oh maybe I'll go back to the days  
>Befo' the politics that we call the rap game<br>And back when ain't nobody listen to my mixtape  
>And back befo' I tried to cover up my slang<br>But this is fo' Decatur, what's up Bobby Ray?  
>So can I get a wish<br>To end the politics  
>And get back to the music<br>That started this shit?  
>So here I stand and then again I say<br>I'm hopin' we can make some wishes

_outta' airplanes_

[Chorus: Hayley Williams (B.o.B)]  
>Can we pretend that airplanes<br>In the night sky  
>Are like shooting stars? (Shooting Stars)<br>I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)  
>Wish right now (Wish right now)<br>Wish right now (Wish right now)  
>Can we pretend that airplanes<br>In the night sky  
>Are like shooting stars? (Shooting Stars)<br>I could really use a wish right now (Wish right now)  
>Wish right now (Wish right now)<br>Wish right now (Wish right now)

[Outro: B.o.B]  
>I could really use a wish right now<br>(I could really use a wish right now)  
>I-I-I could really use a wish right now<br>(I could really use a wish right now)  
>Like, like, like shootin' stars<br>(Like shootin' stars)  
>I-I-I-I could really use a wish right now<br>(I could really use a wish right now)  
>A wish, a wish right now<br>(A wish right now)

"I like that," I smiled. He grinned too.

"Who knew you were so talented," I smiled. After adding a few things to the song, I had Quil rap one more time and sent a demo.

"Need anything else?" he wondered as I sat at the piano. I shook my head.

"Alright, well I'm off. Sorry I couldn't stick around longer," he said. I smiled. "Thanks for the help."

"Anytime Bella," he grinned cockily. "I am your go to guy for rapping."

He made some weird DJ hand motion like he was spinning a record and started popping a beat. Laughing at his corniness, I threw a pencil at him and he quickly went to leave, still smirking.

As I realized I would be by myself, I felt a bit of panic. Daring myself to call out for Quil again, I shook my head. I would be fine. There is no threat. Whoever that vampire was, couldn't come here. It _**wouldn't**_ come here.

Letting out a long breath, I waited to hear the door close downstairs so I wouldn't be tempted to shout for the man. Most of the boys were already tired from patrols and Pack things Sam had going on. They didn't need to be any more worked up or stressed by following me along or trotting along the Cullen's house while I was here.

The clan of vampires I had considered to be my 'family' had top-notch security installed in their house for me anyways. And I had heard Quil set the system. I was okay. Or I hoped I would be.

I went back to reading over the lyrics I started writing a while ago. It popped into my head suddenly, and I knew this song was for Collin and Brady. I sat at the piano for a while trying to figure out a melody.

Adding to my lyrics every so often, I figured out a few chords.

_**("Fuckin' Perfect" by P!nk)**_

_Made a wrong turn once or twice  
>Dug my way out, blood and fire<br>Bad decisions, that's alright  
>Welcome to my silly life<em>

Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood  
>Miss 'No way, it's all good'<br>It didn't slow me down.  
>Mistaken, always second guessing<br>Underestimated, look I'm still around

Pretty, pretty please, don't you ever, ever feel  
>Like you're less than fucking perfect<br>Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel  
>Like you're nothing, you're fucking perfect to me<p>

You're so mean when you talk  
>About yourself. You were wrong.<br>Change the voices in your head  
>Make them like you instead.<p>

So complicated,  
>Look happy, You'll make it!<br>Filled with so much hatred  
>Such a tired game<br>It's enough, I've done all I could think of  
>Chased down all my demons<br>I've seen you do the same  
>(Ohh ohhhhhhh)<p>

Pretty, pretty please, don't you ever, ever feel  
>Like you're less than fucking perfect<br>Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel  
>Like you're nothing, you're fucking perfect to me<p>

The whole world's scared, so I swallow the fear  
>The only thing I should be drinking is an ice cold beer<br>So cool in line and we try try try but we try too hard  
>And it's a waste of my time.<br>Done looking for the critics, cause they're everywhere  
>They don't like my jeans, they don't get my hair<br>Exchange ourselves and we do it all the time  
>Why do we do that, why do I do that (why do I do that)?<p>

(Yeah!)  
>I'm Pretty, pretty, pretty<p>

Pretty, pretty please, don't you ever, ever feel  
>Like you're less than fucking perfect<br>Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel  
>Like you're nothing, you're fucking perfect to me<br>(You're perfect, you're perfect)  
>Pretty, pretty please, don't you ever, ever feel<br>Like you're less than fucking perfect.  
>Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel<br>Like you're nothing, you are perfect to me.

Finishing up, I smiled as it was completed. It was just right. I had picked up a few things from Quil when he was rapping. I liked watching him. What he could do was cool and he was good at it. The song was perfect, stopping in the middle and sort of talking while adding a beat.

Getting up, I recorded it and then burnt it to a CD. (Just in case I was ever to forgot it or what not). Taking one more look at the studio, I felt at peace.

I made my way home in no time. I had to admit, I was nervous to actually go downstairs and walk out of the Cullen's house by myself. There were so many scary scenarios that ran through my head- all of the possibilities that could happen. But I sucked it up. I ran out of the house like a bat out of hell and jumped in my car.

Giggling at myself as I made it back home, I opened the door to see pizza on the table. Grabbing a slice, I went back upstairs.

I shrugged off my jacket and plopped on my bed. True, I was feeling more peaceful after doing some music, but I was still on edge. Calling Pete, I told him the song was done and I would send it over.

He was beyond excited. For some reason he had complete faith in me.

Taking out an envelope, I stuck the CD and lyrics in there and then went to ship it off to the mailbox.

As I walked back up to the house, I saw Sam coming out of the woods beside my house.

"Hey," I breathed coming to wrap my arm around his side. He kissed my head and hugged me.

"Think we can spend some time with you in wolf form?" I asked.

He gave me a raised eyebrow and I blushed. It had been a while since Sam was in my backyard in his wolfy like appearance. I slightly missed all those nights with him like that.

He nodded, giving me one more kiss before heading to the backyard. Stepping inside the house, I found Charlie had already gone to bed. Moving to the back of the house, I pushed the screen door back and saw my wolf.

"Hi," I giggled as he approached me. With a scratch to his big face, I sat on the steps.

"I missed this," I told him as he purred. His eyes opened and he gave me a questionable look.

"We haven't done this in a really long time. Do you remember when you first imprinted on me and you pretty much stalked the hell out of me out here?"

He rolled his eyes and I smiled. After a while, I was starting to get tired. I didn't want to leave though. His wolf brought me comfort in ways the man couldn't. So we laid down in the grass. As he put his head on his paws, I laid against his big furry body.

"Quil thanked me today," I said thinking over my day. His big head moved a bit so it could look at me better.

"He wanted to show me his appreciation for keeping Claire safe."

Sam let out some sort of agreeing noise so I rolled my eyes.

"I don't see why though," I huffed. "I didn't protect Claire in any way that I should have. She could have-…" I stopped. I told myself I needed to pull it together, not fall apart. "I just don't see why I was thanked."

Sam moved a little and his nuzzle hit me. I could picture what he was trying to say, but in all honesty I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear it. My dad was proud of me, Sam was proud of me, Uncle Billy was proud of me and Quil was thankful towards me. How was this right?

"She was a vampire Bella," Sam said now naked in front of me. I sat up a bit surprised.

"You made it away unscathed with a vampire watching you. Both you and Claire made it away safely. That does deserve a thanks."

I shook my head towards the ground, still not understanding. "Sam, we just got lucky. I don't know what I would have done…and what about Claire? You are all giving me credit for something I just got lucky with."

"Lucky or not, you felt something that was wrong. You trusted your instincts."

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Bella," Sam said getting me to look up at him. "You didn't stay at the beach or go against what you felt. That is why you are being thanked. You made sure to trust your instincts and leave- for the sake of yourself and Claire."

He swallowed hard staring at me, "I don't know what would have happened if you stayed there and ignored what your body was telling you. I could have- I could have lost you," he choked out. Finding the need to comfort him, I brought my hand up to his face and kissed him softly.

"I'm not losing you and you aren't losing me." He stared into my eyes and kissed me again, bringing us both down on the ground.

"Sam," I panted as he hovered above me. "Your naked in my backyard."

Giggling, he blushed and went to pull on his shorts that were tied around his ankle.

"Come on lover boy," I smiled taking his hand and pulling him to my room. I swear Sam and I could never sleep apart. As much as I tried, he always found away to come and snuggle with me.

He hugged me close as we lay in bed.

"I love you," I whispered as we spooned. Kissing my temple he squeezed me tight. "I love you too baby."

* * *

><p>It had been a few weeks since fiasco with the vampire. Since then, Sam and I have been inseparable. I think we both had the fear of losing each other. Either way though, I didn't mind. I loved having him around. The days and nights with him all blurred into one. I truly felt like I was head over heels in love.<p>

Charlie finally admitted his feelings to me about Sue, and I pushed him to asking her going out on a date. I laughed when Charlie gave me the play by play. He was so nervous that he drove past her house when he went to go pick her up.

With Sue and Charlie now together, Seth, Leah and I had become a lot closer. They hung over my house a lot. Leah was now back with Cole, finding him to be the man she always wanted to be with, imprint or not. I guess their little break showed her that she didn't need some supernatural tie to show her the way. So anyways, Sam and Cole had been pretty good friends since they were always around.

Collin and Brady had been doing well with the Pack still too. I had mailed the two the song I had wrote and they immediately swept me up into two very big hugs.

Jake and Sarah, along with Kim and Jared had both been going strong. I swear they were just as inseparable as Sam and I.

Quil and Claire were still going good. Quil found it hard at times to be with the little girl and not actually **be** with her, but everyone helped him past it little by little. He was just so wrapped into seeing all the happy couples, that he wanted it with Claire too, but she was still too young.

Embry, Seth, and Paul both hadn't found a girl yet, but Paul was sure busy 'dating' as he called it with a smirk.

So our Pack was going good. Well at least until Jake burnt down their house.

It was one day during the week when Jake needed my help. He wanted to cook Sarah dinner and ask her to move in with him. He had gotten Uncle Billy's approval, along with her parents and had set everything up. So as I was walking to their house, I stepped inside and found Jake messing around with a pan that was on fire.

"Jake!" I yelled stepping into the kitchen. I saw their was oil burning in the pan.

"I got this Bells!" he shouted. "Step Back!" he pushed me away and threw water into the fire.

"No!" I shouted as the fire grew. "Jake, you never put water into burning oil!" I yelled. Trying to stop the flames, I grabbed a kitchen towel and swatted at them. Unfortunately the fire was too fast and the flames started catching on everything.

"We have to go," I coughed to Jake. He shook his head and continued to swat. The smoke was getting to be too much as I saw Jake started to cough too.

"Jake!" I yelled as the fire scorched the kitchen walls. Pulling him along, I covered my mouth and ran out of the house. Pulling out my phone when we were safe, I called the fire department. Sirens came a while later and put out the blaze.

We stared at the burnt place. Half of the outside of the house was missing. The whole kitchen was in charcoal along with part of the hallway and bathroom.

"What happened?" Billy asked as he wheeled towards us.

"Dad," Jake said brokenly. I gave them a minute as Sam approached us with some others.

"Woah," Embry said looking at the house.

"Jake feels guilty enough," I said. I winced as I saw Sarah step out of her car flabbergasted at the scene. Quickly going over to her, she looked worried.

"Bella what happened? Are you okay? Is Jake okay?" she rushed out. I put a hand on her shoulder. She looked nice all dressed up for her date. I pulled a face.

"Everyone is okay. Jake just had a minor cooking accident."

"Minor?" she asked looking over to the house. I teetered my head, "okay, so it was little more than that. He just…can't cook," I admitted. She let out a little chuckle, watching her boyfriend and Uncle Billy talk. We chatted a while later till Jake came over to her and hugged her. Excusing myself, I went back to find Sam.

"Hey," I said as he looked at the house.

"What the hell happened? Are you okay?" he asked looking me over.

"I'm fine," I said touching his forearms. I had a bit of black dust on me and looked like I had just been through the war and back, but I was good.

Explaining the whole story, Sam shook his head. Both Embry and Paul chuckled.

"Don't you mock him," I commanded to the two. "He feels bad enough without you two getting on his case."

Both the boys gave me a grump look as Sam made that become an official order.

"I'm going to go check on Uncle Billy," I told my boyfriend, squeezing his hand. Giving me a quick kiss, I left him with his Pack.

"You okay old man?" I joked. He continued to stare at his halfly burnt house.

"The fire department said we couldn't stay here. It would be unsafe. What are we supposed to do?"

I had a feeling he was wondering this to himself in shock, but I put in my two senses nonetheless.

"You are welcome to stay with Charlie and I. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Finally Billy turned to me. "I could never do that Bella. Jake and I will just find a hotel."

"A hotel that is wheel chair accessible?" I asked. "Billy, really. Please stay with us. I would love to have you guys. It would give me a piece of mind and you a piece of your wallet back," I said. He chuckled.

"I could never repay you," he said.

"No one said you had to," I smiled. He hesitantly nodded and I grinned. Telling him I would grab what I could from his house, I pulled Jake away and told him what was going to happen.

"I was just going to sleep in the garage," he said. I rolled my eyes and hit him. "Well your father is staying with us. You are welcome too to but if you have another invitation for somewhere else," I hinted to Sarah as she was on the phone with her parents. He blushed.

"You're welcome to stay with Charlie and I but it's up to you. I have to grab some of your guys' stuff though," I said kissing his cheek.

As I walked into the house, I called Charlie and informed him what was going on. He told me he would be over in a jiff and we hung up.

"What are you doing?" Sam wondered hugging me from behind.

"Hi," I smiled rummaging around Billy's room. "I am getting some of Uncle Billy's things. He agreed to stay with Charlie and I for a while."

Sam raised his eyebrow. Stuffing some things in bags, Sam began to help me.

"So then are you staying with me?" he asked casually. I turned to him confused.

"No…why?"

He stopped folding things and looked at me. "Because you are going to be living with three other people and have a total of one bathroom, 3 bedrooms, and a kitchen."

I rolled my eyes strolling closer to him. "One," I said sliding my hands around his waist, "I have a big bed that Jake and I could both sleep in," he growled but I continued, "two, im sure we can work past the bathroom issue, and three, my kitchen is not that small, thank you very much," I said pulling away. He grabbed my arm, making me stumble back to him.

"But I, one, have a bigger kitchen," he said copying me, "I, two, have a bigger house that includes more than one bathroom, and I, three, have more than one guest room and a bigger bed."

"Then maybe you should have these guests at your house," I giggled. He growled as I teased him.

"As much as I love you and your offer," I said looking at him, "We will be okay."

"Not if Jake I sleeping in your bed," he growled again. I put hands on his chest, moving them up and down to calm him.

"Its just Jake. We used to do it as kids."

"Don't care," he grumbled out kissing me possessively at my neck.

"Sam," I laughed. "Okay," I said pulling away from him.

"Jake can sleep on the couch in the living room. The bathroom shouldn't be a problem, and either should the kitchen," I said with a twinkle.

"Bella," he groaned. I sighed. I knew were getting into the whole future talk again. First he would bring up the whole 'you should move in with me' thing but I would stay adamant. I would repeatedly tell him I not am moving into his place before getting married. Then, he would bring that up, saying it was the perfect age for us to start settling down. He could and would possibly bring up the marking debate I was having with myself and then would end with begging me to let him give him the opportunity to propose to me. By this time, I would be shaking my head and pull away from him. The night would end in a disagreement that kept us a part until someone cracked.

"Lets not start okay?" I pleaded with him.

"I just want you to be mine," he said in a whine.

"I am yours," I said kissing him softly. "I am your forever and ever."

"Then why can't we make everything official?" he asked. "Why do I feel like you just want to stay as we are for the rest of your life?"

"Well, what's wrong with this place we're at?" I wondered slightly hurt. He sighed and hugged me tighter. "Baby its great, it's just… I want us, you know? I want more than us to be dating and seeing each other when we can. I want us to be together and I wanna wake up to you every morning. I want to cuddle with you and kiss you whenever I possibly can."

"Don't you do most of that already?" I asked not looking at him. "You kiss me senseless every time I see you, and you wake up to me most days. Hell, you wake up _**before**_ me most days," I corrected. I started playing with his shirt. " You always cuddle with me wherever we are, and we see each other plenty-pretty much every single day."

"Bella," he sighed. I knew I wasn't fessing up to everything. He was frustrated that I didn't get it, I knew how he was feeling, and I just didn't want to admit it.

"You're just feeling this way because your alpha," I whispered. He held onto me tight and I let my heart practically stroke out.

"Is this what's been holding you back?" he wondered pulling away to look at me. I stayed with my eyes glue to whatever I could find.

"Hey," he said bending down to catch my eyes. Closing them, I prayed we could just avoid this conversation somehow.

"Ready?" Jake asked coming in his father's room for me.

"Yea," I said moving to get Billy's things.

"No," Sam barked out. "Go wait outside Jacob."

Jake looked stunned and did what he was told by command.

"Was that necessary?" I asked facing the man's bed.

"Look at me," he said in a deep tone. I shook my head. I didn't want to. Because when I would look at him and catch his eyes, he would see what I said was true. I had felt that way. At first, I just brushed it all off to saying, it was a better tradition and way to do things. People shouldn't move in with their significant other before getting married. It resulted in a higher statistic of breaking up or falling out of the relationship later on in life. And all though that really didn't apply to me, it was the meaning of the matter.

But then Sam started persisting with other things like marriage, children, and marking. I brushed those all aside too, telling him I didn't want to be marked until we were married, and I was too young to get married. I then further told him that we needed to wait to have kids- wait till we were married, but obviously we weren't getting married any time soon. So I left us in limbo. Everything was just up in the air.

But Sam continuously brought it up time and time again. Not only the whole moving in thing, but future talk. Every chance he got; he tried to persuade me into thinking about it more. And I started to see why. Being alpha, it made him even more possessive than everyone else.

Jared was starting to think of tying the knot with Kim, by asking her to marry him, and Jake was going to ask Sarah to move in at his place. Both the men had already marked their imprints and now were taking another step ahead of Sam. Both of the women would have immediately said yes too, which I think irked Sam even more. They let their men take control of their relationship where I didn't do that with Sam. I tried my hardest to make it equal, but there were just some things I took a hold of.

"Bella, talk to me," he said trying to get me to face him.

"Sam, now's not the time," I said folding some things. He growled and spun me to look at him. "Then when is the time?" he asked. "Because you won't talk about this with me. You just blow it off like its nothing. I know you." He said controlling his temper as he stared in my eyes. "I know you will busy yourself with your new company and make sure I will try to forget this. You will avoid me if you have to and it will literally drive me crazy."

I swallowed hard and broke eye contact. He growled again and pushed my head so I had to look at him.

"Sam, don't," I said almost in a pleading whisper as I touched his hand to get out of his grasp.

"Why do I feel like I'm the only one in this relationship? Why am I the only one wanting something?" he asked staring at me.

"Your not," I said pulling my face away. I tried moving away but he blocked me when I did, holding onto me.

"Look at me," he growled. I let out a sigh, composing myself as best as I could. Staring into his eyes, I kept my walls up.

"Stop it," he said. "Stop doing that," he barked reading my façade I put up when I tried to push away thoughts and feelings from people.

"I'm just not ready," I finally said softly.

A/N: Hey all my readers out there. So I just got this really hurtful review(on my story I just published called "How Times Can Change")-it was my first review and stabbed me deep. All the person wrote was that I write too many Sam and Bella stories. Now it's true, I mainly write those. And well, a part of me says to ignore this hurtful comment but I guess I'm having a hard time. All these stupid thoughts in my head are now really discouraging me. I'm not getting too many reviews on this story anyways, so I was wondering if I should even continue. Is anyone even out there really reading or enjoying my stories? Should I cancel this one and just stop all together?

To the reviewer who even left the review, why did you even read it or take the time to put out a review if you don't like who I pair together in my stories? Was it just to be hurtful? Cause it definitely was.

Sorry to vent and get upset like this readers. Please leave me your comments to tell me what to do. Thanks.


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: Thank you all sooo much for the support. It's brightened up my day! I will definitely continue and maybe even publish another story soon. Who knows ;)_**

He ripped himself away from me after those words and went to leave.

"Sam," I said just as soft. I knew he was mad. He was fuming actually. Stopping in the door way he waited for me to say something, but I wasn't sure what to say.

"It will pass, just like it usually does," I sighed. "The jealousy will go away," I clarified as he seemed confused. He shook a bit, clenching his hands on the doorway.

"That's what you think this is? I'm jealous?"

I shrugged my shoulders and looked at everything I packed.

"Our relationship is more than that," he growled.

"I know," I said looking at him. "I know it is."

"Then why are you acting like this?" he asked stomping towards me, "why can't I go any farther with you?"

"I just…"

"Don't say it," he growled as he grabbed my jaw to look at him as I broke eye contact. "Don't say you aren't ready."

"Don't you see it?" I finally caved breaking away from him. I took a few steps back. "Don't you see its just jealousy?" I asked him. "In a few days, when everyone is back to their norm, you will be fine. Jake wont be asking Sarah to move in with him till everything is back to the usual and Jared will probably wait too. You get in these stages Sam, where your alpha just needs to feel like he's first in everything."

"No," he said stalking towards me. He stared into my eyes, looking at me for the longest time. "How could you think this?"

"Because its true," I called. "It all goes away."

He shook his head. "It never goes away. I bring it up again and again, each time thinking maybe you gave us more of a thought. But every time it's the same answer. And I think to myself, you just need more time. You just are afraid to take the leap. You will bring it up when you are ready, but you never do. You let everyone else go on with their lives except yourself."

"Your hiding behind your words," he told me as I cowered from him. I bit my lip and stood there. How did we get from here to there?

"Everything will become permanent," I said calmly. "And I still have doubts," I added hesitantly. I sucked in a breath as I felt Sam's hurt.

"In us?" he wondered.

I bit my lip. "Not all of it, but some."

I sucked in a breath and turned around. This was getting so serious and heated. I felt so unprepared. "Its just-I know I shouldn't be afraid or have any of those stupid thoughts of the future because ours is so…sealed," I said. I tugged at my hair, not even looking at him. "But its just so…god damn frustrating," I admitted. "One minute I can feel so sure of everything and then next it's like…panic. I feel so…god damn helpless sometimes," I forced out.

"Your like…my everything. I can't even think clearly half the time if you are missing. And im supposed to be independent and strong but god," I huffed out, "its so hard. My body craves you, my thoughts crave you but I know that this isn't normal. Nothing in this world is normal," I said referring to the Pack and the supernatural world.

"I swear, sometimes I feel like I have adjusted perfectly. You're by my side, I have a family, friends, a life- but then its like…it's not real." I said again. "Couples fight and leave and yell. They take breaks from each other and call it quits, but we don't do that. We can't do that," I stressed to him. "How is that normal? How is that right? How is _**that**_ not scaring the shit out of you?" I asked. "How can you accept everything about me when, hell, if things went differently, you wouldn't never have known me or liked me?"

"This is everything?" he asked. "You're finally telling me everything?"

"Sam," I growled out in frustrating. He wasn't getting it.

"You never tell me anything Bella," he accused.

"Because it hurts you," I admitted with defeat. "I feel like I am struggling with two sides of my thoughts, with no one to talk to, because it always comes back around to you and hurts _**you**_."

He came over to hug me but I stayed stiff in his arms. My body was temped to melt but I just…I couldn't.

"I can't go any further with you because I can't jump with blind faith," I said saying part of the phrase I once said to him.

"You need to tell me when you are having troubles with the imprint," he said to me. I shut my eyes and looked away ashamed.

"I don't care if it hurts, I need to know- I want to know," he corrected looking over to me. "Bella, you have to explain everything to me, please," he said. I nodded softly. "We need to get Billy and Jake situated first."

He growled as I stepped away from him. "Don't shut me out."

"I know," I sighed frustrated. I was trying not to but it was like an instinct.

"Embry," Sam called. Few seconds later, Embry was in the doorway looking at us. "Take Billy's things to Bella's and get the two situated," he barked out the command. Embry nodded, taking the bags in front of me. With a small smile, he left.

"Talk to me," Sam commanded lightly.

Facing him, I went back over the jealousy thing. His alpha was so territorial. I explained to him how much I picked it up over the years. How, as much as I had been hesitant, I still saw it.

"Do you even love me?" he asked after a while. I snapped my head up. "Of course I do," I said. He looked skeptical. "I _**fell**_ in love with you," I pushed. After everything we had went together, I of course fell in love with him. He became the man I always needed and wanted- imprint or not.

"Tell me what I am doing wrong," he said nuzzling into my face.

"You're not doing anything wrong," I sighed running my hands softly at the nape of his neck, "its just me."

"Then tell me how I can fix it," he mumbled kissing my shoulder and neck.

"There's nothing you can fix," I answered again. He shook his head and pulled his eyes up to look at me. "I can always fix something, especially when it comes to you."

Kissing me lightly, I melted into him.

"You can fix Billy's house," I said trying to move onto a different topic as we broke.

"Not what I'm talking about," he said rolling his eyes. I gave him a small smile.

"Just talk to me okay?" he pleaded nuzzling into me again. I gave a silent 'okay' and held onto him for a while. I wasn't sure where this placed us, and I was afraid to ask.

We left Billy's room a few minutes later. Hand in hand, he drove us back to my place.

When we got home, I saw Jake already making himself at home. "Sarah wouldn't let you stay?" I asked as I walked in the door. He grumped. "Her parents."

Letting out a laugh, I dragged Sam in from behind me. "Yo Bells, I took the other side of your bed okay?" Jake asked. Sam growled and I rolled my eyes. "Sure, no prob Jake."

I squeezed Sam's tense hand and walked us into the kitchen. "Hey dad, Uncle Billy," I smiled. "Dad, I am going to stay at Sam's place for a while okay?" Charlie looked at me. "Billy, I got Sam to have him and the boys help fix up your place so you should be back there in no time," I smiled as I put a hand on his shoulder. I could feel Sam beaming.

"Are your living arrangements okay with Sam?" Charlie wondered. I rolled my eyes, like they wouldn't be. "Yes, sir, they are fine with me." Nodding, he continued to look at me.

"Hey, stop glaring at me. It's not like I planned this," I said pulling away from their stares to get water from the fridge. "I wasn't who put water on the burning oil and make the fire angrier."

Billy grumped about it under his breath. Pushing up to sit on the counter, I looked at all the men. The tension was sizzling.

"Bella, you shouldn't have to move in with Sam like this. Jake and I can find somewhere else," Uncle Billy said kindly. I could feel Sam's happiness deflate a bit.

Rolling my eyes, I sipped my water. "Uncle Billy, do you really think I mind staying with Sam? And does it look like Sam minds?" I asked him. Both older men turned to look at my boyfriend, who looked a bit flushed. Grinning, I continued. "And really, it will be better. This way all of you can have your own room."

Billy nodded and looked at Charlie. "And don't worry dad," I said glancing at him, "I will still be around. I'll just be sleeping at Sam's."

I could Sam give me that stare of 'not if I can help it'. Brushing it off I set my water on the counter, "plus, I am still coming over every night to cook. You don't think I want a repeat performance of what happened today with this house do you?" I asked.

Jumping down, I kissed the three men and went to go pack my things.

"You seem uplifted," Sam said cuddling with my waist. I grinned, "Yea well you seem pretty happy yourself." He nipped at my neck and I laughed. "So you got what you wanted Mr. wolf man. I just hope you don't mind fixing up Billy's house?"

He shook his head kissing me. "I don't mind at all."

"Cause you're on cloud nine right now," I grinned as I analyzed him. He continued to smile and I giggled. Wow, I had a lot of power.

I shoved some more things in my bag.

"You know we can clear out a few drawers for you," he said slowly. I hesitantly looked at him.

"Only if you want," he added. Looking at my shirt in my hands, I nodded, "Yea, sounds good."

Surprised, he stopped me from packing. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," I laughed with a breath.

After grabbing my things, and a few smooches on the way down, Sam put my things at the door, making sure to grab them when we were ready to leave. I told Jake my room was all free and clear for him, which he just responded by giving me a raised eyebrow. Rolling my eyes, I made dinner for all of the men and called it a night.

"Ready to go?" Sam asked as I sat on his lap while we all watched TV. Nodding sleepily, he pulled me up and held my hips as I steadied.

"Alright Dad, I'm off for the night. Love you," I said kissing his cheek. He gave me an uncertain look about our sleeping arrangements but still let me go. Kissing Jake and Uncle Billy next, I grabbed Sam's hand and drove to his house.

"What a day," I said plopping onto his bed.

"You gunna unpack?" he wondered.

"Tomorrow," I said snuggling with his pillow. I loved his bed. It smelt like him.

"You gunna undress?" he asked now coming to lay with me.

"Maybe tomorrow," I mumbled tiredly. He let out a deep chuckle and kissed my nose. God those lips- he had me melting like silly putty in his hands. Falling a sleep a few minutes later, there was nothing but a dreamless sleep waiting for me.

* * *

><p>I woke up to a dip in the bed. Rubbing my eyes I looked up to see Sam bringing me breakfast in bed.<p>

"Hey," I said sitting up, "I could get used to this."

Smirking at him, he just rolled his eyes and kissed me good morning.

"You sleep okay?" he asked as he set the tray over my lap.

"You mean did I ever wake up in the middle of the night and have another spaze attack?"

He rolled his eyes again and snuggled his body closer to me. "No, I didn't. I'm good. I had a perfectly great sleep with a delicious man beside me," I grinned as he was half naked. Chuckling, we shared my breakfast in bed and enjoyed the day.

"So I was thinking," I called out to him as he was in the bathroom showering, a few hours later after our breakfast. I grabbed some more things from my duffle bag and shoved them in a drawer Sam had cleaned out for me. "When you rebuild Billy's house, you think you can make the sections that burnt down a bit bigger? Like an extension?"

"We can try," Sam said shutting off the water. Accepting the answer, I stuffed some more things away. Sam not only cleaned out one drawer for me, but half the dresser.

"I think it would be easier for him and Jake to move around if the kitchen and hallways were bigger," I declared. This time he didn't give me an answer. Finding it to be weird, I turned to peer at the bathroom and found him leaning against the doorway smiling. He had a white fluffy towel wrapped low around his waist. Ogling for a bit, I saw his inevitable smirk.

"Oh stop," I said rolling my eyes as I shoved my clothes away. "I told you I would unpack."

Continuing to smirk, I stuck out my tongue at him. He was being such a tease dressed like that. And his stupid grin was no help nonetheless.

"Its just good to see you putting your stuff away in my house," he said stalking over to me.

"Mmhmm," I said trying to ignore his presence. He was a turn on, that was for sure. And with only a towel on, I felt hot. His arms slid around my waist and I melted into his body. He nipped at my ear and jaw. He made sure to nuzzle into me as he took his time.

"I love you," he muttered as he moved my hair away to nip at me. I could feel his growing hardness press against my butt.

"I love you too. Now stop being a tease," I said breaking the sex trance Sam had on me. He gave me a proud smirk as he saw how flustered I had become.

"Jerk," I grumbled out as I threw my empty bag on the floor. Going into the bathroom, I plugged in the curling iron. My hair was being weird today. For some reason, I had curls and strands of straight hair. Grabbing the iron, I fixed up my hair and went to go change.

"I'm gunna be at my dad's house today okay?" I said to the still half naked man. "Dinner there."

He nodded stalking back over to me. "Sam," I warned as I watched his eyes become dark.

"You have to go get things to fix Billy's house," I said as he sauntered over to me. He grabbed my waist fiercely, picking me up and setting me on his dresser.

"Sam," I warned again. His name came out as more of a moan than a caution, which caused him to pursue his lust even more.

His hands wandered up and down my sides, sliding off his shirt I had borrowed when I got up this morning. His lips kept sucking and nipping at my neck and face.

"We have stuff to get done today," I groaned out as I tilted my head further to the side to give him better access.

"Mmhmm," he responded as he moved his hands to rub my thighs.

"God, you are such a horn dog," I gasped as he teased my center. He let out a growl as he felt my wetness.

"Can't help it babe," he said now moving his mouth to my breast.

"Somehow," I gasped, cupping the back of his neck with my hand, he lapped his tongue over my hard nipple, "I doubt that."

Within seconds his towel was on the floor and he was inside me. He thrusted us hard against the dresser, making me cum numerous times before he finally let go.

"What a way to start the day," I panted to him as he kept our sweaty bodies joined. We cleaned ourselves up a bit a while later and went our separate ways. Sam needed to pick up some of the boys to get a truck for the wood and supplies he was going to get from the store, and I was going to the Cullen's to write some more music.

* * *

><p>I had been on a roll at the moment. My muse had floated over to me and sparked ideas in my brain non-stop. It was like I couldn't leave the mansion. I went from instrument to instrument thinking of some random beats or lyrics. It was amazing. The rush was unbelievable.<p>

Jared came up to get me a while later after working on my 5th song for the day.

"Ready to go?" he asked. Nodding, I dropped my guitar, packed up my papers and left the studio. Jared went wolf while I dropped my car off at Charlie's. Waiting him to return human, I hummed out the melody of my song I was finishing. When he rejoined me, we walked inside together and I went straight to the kitchen. Getting out the pots and pans, I prepared the fettuccini alfredo with chicken.

"Bella," Billy said rolling in the kitchen.

"Hey Uncle Billy," I smiled over my shoulder. "I got the boys to start on your house today. I asked Sam if we could possibly add a few extensions and he said he could try to work them out. So your house should be looking like brand new in no time," I beamed.

"Wow, Bella, that's great. Thank you," he said letting the cans of beer in his lap.

"No problem," I answered turning back to my food. By the time the noodles were ready, I called Jacob in the kitchen. Giving me a kiss on the cheek with his nice hello, he drained the pot for me and even took my knife to cut up some vegetables.

"You just worry I am going to hurt myself," I teased as he chopped.

"Hey, at least you are getting extra help in the kitchen," he pointed out as he tried to redirect the conversation from bluntly answering my question.

Setting the bowls of food on the table, I prepared a few more things before everyone came shuffling in.

"Ooaf," Embry said rubbing sawdust from his sweaty forehead.

"Eww," I laughed as he came into the kitchen to greet me. "You look gross."

"Oh thanks Bells," he said now drawing closer with an evil idea in his head. "Stay back Embry," I laughed warningly as I smiled whole-heartedly. He was sweaty, sticky and just plain 'ol gross.

"Eww!" I laughed and squirmed as he caught me in a big bear hug.

"Okay!" I squealed as he rubbed his chest up against me. He pulled away, smirking proudly at me.

"You got me all dusty," I complained now looking down at my clothes. Giving me a kiss on the cheek, he went to go sit down with the other guys.

"Hey Collin, Brady," I said as they walked in next. "Come here, try this," I told the two. Giving them a piece of some new homemade bread I made, they moaned.

"Can I have some more?" Brady asked snatching some up before I could answer.

"Hey," I laughed shooing his hand away.

"Really good," Collin said taking a piece from my cutting board. "Collin!" I scolded.

"Hey, he did it," the boy said in defense as he blamed his brother. Rolling my eyes I pushed them out of the kitchen.

With a few more things to do, like putting together a fruit salad, and checking my desserts, I called for the guys. "Dinner!" I hollered.

Everyone came shuffling in like mad men. We grabbed our seats and dug in, not even waiting for the other men.

"Hey, you started already," Seth protested shuffling in the front door.

"Not cool," Quil announced following right behind him. They grabbed a plate of their own, settling around the table.

"How was working on the house today?" I wondered.

"Not too bad. That fire did a lot of damage," Embry said. "We spent most of our time cleaning all of the debris up."

"Hey," Paul said coming in as we continued to talk. He grabbed himself a plate, immediately taking huge scoops of everything.

"Hey baby," Sam said coming up behind me as I went to fill the bowls with more food.

"Hi," I smiled turning to him. Kissing him quickly, I set the food back down and went to my food. Sam said next to Uncle Billy and Jake.

"How was your day?" Sam asked almost seeming like it was just he and I at the dinner table. I grinned at this. It was cool how he could just be so focused on me when there were ten other conversations going around the table.

"Good," I smiled taking a drink of my soda. "I got a lot done- more than usual," I said rolling the pasta over my fork.

"How was the house?" I wondered.

"It's moving along. I think that we should be able to add a few extensions to some things. I can try to make the kitchen wider. Was that what you wanted?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. To be honest, I wasn't sure how I wanted to design it. "Sure, I don't really know," I responded to my man, "what ever you can do to make it more accessible and spacious sounds good to me."

He nodded taking a bite of his food. "We can talk it over later."

After everyone finished their food, I pulled out some desserts for everyone to help themselves at, and boy, did they ever. My pies and huge cake was gone within minutes.

"Holy crow guys," I said as I looked at the empty plates. There was maybe a crumb or two left. "You all should be pigs, not dogs," I grumbled to myself as I began picking up.

"Hey we heard that!" Brady protested. I rolled my eyes and looked back at him, "you were meant to."

After cleaning up, Sam and I hung around for a while, but decided to go home. Giving everyone a goodbye, we ventured home and snuggled in bed.

By the next morning, I had found myself in an empty bed.

'Went to work on Billy's place, didn't want to wake you' Sam's note said on his pillow. Smiling at it, I checked the clock and found it was noon!

Getting out of bed, I took a fast shower and made a bunch of food to bring to the boys. I drove over to Jake's place and found the house really coming together. The debris was all cleaned up and fresh wood was being hammered in, adding the house.

Bringing my fingers to my mouth, I let out a loud whistle. Every pack member there helping out sprung to my attention. "Anyone care to help me bring all of this food over?" I called. It had taken me over three trips back and forth to my car to put it all in there, I wasn't about to take three more. Immediately Jake and Embry rushed over to my aid, stopping whatever they were doing.

"Hey," I said watching them approach. Jake gave me a quick bear hug, kissing me gently on the cheek while Embry just wrapped his arms over my shoulders behind me in a hug. "Hello to you too," I giggled giving him a small kiss to the cheek. After our little embraces, they took all of my food from the truck and carried it to their work site.

"Hey stranger," I announced to Sam as we walked up together towards the house. He immediately grinned, letting go whatever he was hammering to come kiss me.

"Hey," he said kissing me.

"I woke up to a cold bed this morning," I told him intrigued. "What time did you get up and leave?"

"Around 10 maybe? Some of the boys were already working on it but I wanted to add my efforts too," he said hugging me. Sam's stomach let out a growl as the boys opened up the numerous containers of food.

"Come on you big goof," I said leading him into the non burnt parts of the house.

"So how's the house coming along? Hopefully not too rough on all you boys?" I asked as most of them looked pretty sweaty.

"Yea looks good. I like the suggestion you made Bells- for the add on to the house," Jake said munching on some food. I gave him a smile, "thank you. I thought you and your dad might appreciate it. And I thought it would come in handy if I was to ever cook at your place again."

Jake let out a moan just thinking about my home cooking and I had to laugh. He was eating it right now!

"Check out the blue prints," Jared said tossing the roll to me. Opening them wide, I peered at what Sam had drawn.

"Its perfect baby," I smiled at him from behind. He let out a sound of satisfaction and kissed my shoulder. Sam had added on a bigger kitchen with these windowpanes at the roof that made it seem like a sunroof. Then he created a bigger island in the middle and even drew in some more counter space. He sketched out and measured the walls to be a bit bigger for the hallway and even created a bigger bathroom.

"It cuts into Jake's room a bit, but he's working on that," Sam said to me. I looked over at Jake surprised. "Hey, I already feel like I live in a two by four space, I don't need the walls to the bathroom cutting even more space into my corner."

"So…what? Its like a divide and conquer method?" I asked Sam. He nodded. "Jake is constructing his own room, fixing the space to however he chooses while the rest of us are working on designated areas of the burnt down house."

"How are you adding on the Jake's room if his area of the house didn't burn down? Just taking down the walls?" I wondered.

"Pretty much," Jared answered. Surprised, I smiled at how great it was. A somewhat harsh thought about Sam crossed my mind. Something that I wasn't too proud of assuming. I thought Sam would stretch out this project so I would live with him longer, but he really wasn't. He was doing what he could. And that made me happy. In no way was he pushing or shoving our relationship and that made me feel really good.

"What's got you all smiley over there?" Embry wondered.

"Just life," I sighed happily into Sam's arms. Everyone chuckled, continuing to eat the rest of my homemade food that I brought.

"Alright fur balls, back to work," I said gathering all the trash.

"Hey, I resent that," Seth said coming into the house to join our little party. "Aww and I missed the food?" he asked.

"Sorry Seth," I said getting up to kiss him. "There will still be dinner at Charlie's though," I pitched trying to make him feel better. I usually saved the boys their own individual's plates of food before their brothers could take over, but I didn't really know who was stopping by and helping out today. "I will make your favorite berry pie," I charmed as the poor kid still sulked.

His eyes lit up like it was Christmas, "Seriously? Just for me."

"Hey, why not," I said picking up the trash. The younger wolf hugged me tight, almost knocking me over. I faintly heard Sam growl but I was too distracted by my laughter and his thankfulness. Sometimes life was just too good.


	9. Chapter 9

I walked in the front door of Charlie's house with my arms full of groceries.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" I wondered at the Pack. They were all sitting around the small living room watching TV. I took in account my boyfriend was missing from the group.

"There was a fire at the La Push library," Seth said getting up to help me.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked giving him some of my bags.

"Everyone made it out safe," Sam's voice rang out. He stood in the kitchen doorway looking at me with his arms crossed. His eyes showed love but his body looked tense.

"Hey," I smiled going over to give him a kiss.

"There's more in the car," I told Embry and Jake as they walked out the door.

"So how did it start?" I wondered.

"No one really knows. Either way, it doesn't look good for the community," Jared said coming into the kitchen.

"Why?" I asked digging through the paper bags. I started setting things out for dinner and dessert.

"Well money is tight in La Push. Adding costs of the burnt down library- there is no way they are going to rebuild it."

"Even though it's the library? It's an educational center for the community. Shouldn't they have to?" I asked.

"They should, but they wont," Embry said. I gave him a kiss on the cheek as he started to help me.

"So that's it. There's going to be no debate with people on this kind of matter?" I asked turning to everyone. "What about the kids and teens who use the library? What will happen to them?"

"They will have to go to the community center or find a different place," Jake said sadly.

"The community center is in bad shape," Quil commented.

"It looks like crap," Embry amended.

"So what about all of those books? And computers?" I asked. "what are they going to do with all of that stuff?"

"Many of them were caught in the fire. I mean, there are still a few things here and there they could salvage but the people of La Push don't want to put anymore of their money towards rebuilding it. Times are hard, people are just going to have to go to Forks," Jared sighed.

I danced around putting all of the things away. That was unfair. And it was stupid. I knew money was tight but a library was important to La Push. The children and their families needed it. Sam stared at me as I prepared the dinner. Most of the guys continued to talk about what happened, how it started and what was going to happen. The wheels in my head continued to turn. I felt like I needed to do something- and I could.

"I know that look," Sam said watching me. He sauntered up in front of me as I leaned my back against the counter.

"What?" I asked breaking out of my reverie.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"What I'm making for dinner. Chicken, steak, ribs, casserole- its all so hard," I partially lied. Hopefully Sam wouldn't read my face too well. I wanted to give him a distraction, or maybe an excuse. Its not that I didn't want to share my ideas, I just wasn't sure if they were ready to be talked about. I had a way of getting all of these crazy ideas in my head and an impulse to go with them. Most of the time I would get halfway through them and quit, so I definitely needed more thinking time on this.

Walking away from his embrace, I went to take out the steaks.

"Go cook?" I asked him nicely. He stared at me for a second, but I just tried to ignore it by rolling my eyes and kissing his cheek.

Sam took Jake, Paul, and Jared with him as I brought out ingredients to make a pie.

"My pie?" Seth said excitedly.

"The one and only," I smiled goofily. Oh this kid. The rest of us talked about our days and whatever else there was to bring up. By the time Sam came back, I had almost everything ready for dinner.

"Smells good Bells," Charlie said coming in with Uncle Billy.

"And where were you two?" I asked as they entered the house.

"Fire at the library. Billy and I needed to be there," Charlie said. I let the excuse slide, putting everything on the table.

* * *

><p>Dinner was once again a success. Seth cheered as his own pie was served to him. And the boys didn't have much time to complain when I put trays of cookies and cupcakes in front of them.<p>

"So good," Seth said sitting back in his chair. I let out a giggle while Sam chuckled deeply against my backside. He gave me shoulder a quick kiss and went on with the conversations around the table.

My cell phone started going off and immediately half of the Pack started to growl.

"Alright," I said putting my hand out in front of me. I saw it was Pete and picked it up. Excusing myself from the room, I prayed this man would have a good excuse for calling me.

"You did it," he immediately said before I could even say hello.

"What?" I asked confused.

"They are using your song. It was amazing, fabulous and just what they wanted. They are taking it."

I let out a gasp. Wow. "Are you serious?" I asked excitedly.

"Dead serious. Bella, this is just what you needed. Unbelievable!" he laughed in joy. Pete and I talked for a while longer. They wanted to record right away. They were event talking about a music video and everything.

Hanging up with him, I stood where I was for a second before rushing back into the room.

"We did it!" I told Quil rushing over to hug him. There was a growl, which I knew was coming from Sam, but I was too happy.

"Woah, what?" he asked holding me back a little.

"We. Did. It," I said slower. "B.O.B. and Hayley Williams are taking the song we made," I laughed in happiness. His eyes went wide and he stood up taking me in his arms.

"You have to be kidding me Bells, your fucking kidding me!" he boomed. I shook my head and let out my own noise of happiness. This was crazy!

"I made that song. We made that song," Quil corrected after he let me go. I let out a laugh and nodded. He was having a freak attack. His hands were in his hair trying to process it all.

"Quil made a song?" Jared asked to Jake confused. Jake just shrugged his shoulders and continued to stare at the scene playing out in front of him.

"B.O.B is taking our song," I told the Pack. "Hayley Williams from Paramore is going to be singing the song Quil and I wrote!"

"When did you and Quil make a song together?" Embry asked a bit jealous.

"He can rap," I told him. I pointed to Quil who still looked like he was freaking out.

"This song- it's going to be top charts. It going to be epic- it's going to be…" I was freaking out all my own. It was going to change everything.

"Congrats Bells," Charlie said with a smile. Billy grinned and nodded his head.

I went over to Sam, beaming like the sun. He chuckled at my face and kissed my lips hard.

"I want to buy the library and the community center," I blurted out. Everyone looked at the two of us…well, me really.

"What?" Sam asked puzzled, trying to search my eyes as he held me.

I let out an awkward laugh and let him go. My feet went back flat on the floor and I pulled some hair away from my face. My crazy idea wasn't supposed to come out just yet.

"I think I want to buy the property to the library and community center and rebuild them," I said with a shaky voice. It sounded crazy, but with all of my money saved up, why not? It would be a help to the community and gave me a chance to do something good.

"Bells, we are talking about buying part of La Push," Jake said.

"I just want to buy those two landmarks. Or at least get someone to give me the okay to rebuild them. I want to fix them up- get them back in shape," I said a little more confident. The more the boys were asking about my revealing statement, the more I could see myself doing it.

"Its not like I cant afford it," I added, as everyone stayed silent.

"Bella, as great as this sounds honey, aren't you a little young? I mean not that I don't love you passion but you're only 22…" Charlie drifted off.

"And how old were you when you bought this house with mom?" I questioned back. There were a bunch of 'oohs' and 'ouches' going around the table.

"Good point," he sighed.

"Come on, I can buy them and fix them up for the community. I have been wanting to do something with all of this money I have been earning anyways,"

"What about a savings fund for your future?" Jared asked. "You know for like your kids and stuff?"

I wanted to growl at the Beta wolf but instead I rolled my eyes. Stupid touchy subject. "I think I have enough money earned, saved, and still coming in for Sam and I to have over a dozen kids and still be well off. And seriously, if that's all your worried about we can have a fundraiser. I'm sure I can rope Mandy Moore to helping me out and bring along some other people. I can pull something together. Come on," I moaned. Everyone was just looking at each other.

"Will someone please support me on this?" I pleaded. "Sam?" I asked since he had gone quiet.

"I never said I didn't," he said looking at me. I stared at him surprised. Was he actually on my side for this? Because it was usually 'Charlie's always right'.

"Serious?" I asked double-checking. He nodded.

"I'm good with it," Embry said.

"I'm fine with it as long as I can get into another club like that," Paul said.

"Alright," Jake sighed.

As everyone else agreed, my grin couldn't stop growing. I was going to do this. I was really going to do this! As the boys picked up the plates, I talked to Billy of how I should go around to do this.

I guess I would need to sign papers and talk to the city- nothing that couldn't be arranged by him.

"Ready to go?" Sam asked a while later.

"Sure," I smiled. Giving my goodbye to Billy, I thanked him for his help. I gave Charlie a quick kiss and told the boys I would see them later.

"So you really support me on this?" I asked as we sat in the car.

"If its something you want to do, of course I will," he said kissing my hand. His words melted my heart.

"But you know," he said as we got out of the car, "you could have shared your crazy idea with me right away when you thought about it before dinner. I wouldn't have shut you down," he said kissing my temple as we walked up to the house.

"I know," I chirped, "I just wanted to think about it for a bit-make sure it wasn't too crazy and all."

We went upstairs to get ready for bed. Slipping on one of Sam's shirts as my nightwear, I saw him gazing at me.

"What?" I giggled as I crawled into bed.

"I love you," he said simply.

"I love you too," I smiled moving closer so I could lay my head on his shoulder. We fell asleep, exhausted from the day- and oh what a day it had been.

* * *

><p>By the next morning, I woke up to the rising sun and called all of the necessary people. The man I talked to on the phone about buying the library laughed at me, but the woman who co-owned the community center with the area of La Push thanked me gratefully. I automatically began setting aside funds for the both the community center I wanted to fix up and the library I wanted to rebuild. I ripped on the man who thought I was kidding. Instantaneously I bought the library. La Push of course, required me to sign papers and look over a bunch of forms, but honestly, I was happy too.<p>

Sam gave me some builder's names that I could get in touch with for the library, and I set an appointment to meet with the woman who owned the center (I wasn't going to buy that off the woman's hands, I just wanted to fix it).

The weeks started to fly by and all crash together. I ran my errands everyday all day till around dinner, where I made something for everyone. Sam would occasionally help me by going over the contracts people wanted me to sign and things that needed to be done. All in all, it seemed to be working out great.

With the construction company I hired and the plans I had set out with them to create a new library, they told me it could be done with in the next 4 or 5 months. Of course, that was the 'rush' since I was paying them extra. The sooner they got done the better. The community would have their educational center back to them.

Charlie had insisted I not 'waste all my money' and demanded me to put together a fundraiser. So Kim, Sarah, and Sue came over to help me. We created flyers for the guys to put all around and even rented a stage.

"So we are moving all of those instruments?" Embry asked as we went over the plans with the group. I was going to be moving some of the piece of equipments from the music studio the Cullen's made for me and bring it to the event.

"Yes, when the stage is all set up, you are going to set them here, here and here," I said pointing at the layout. Sam, Jared, Collin, and Paul nodded.

"As for you guys," I told, Embry, Quil, Leah, and Brady "after you finish setting up the stage, I want you to help me hook up everything and do a sound check," I commanded.

"What about me?" Seth asked.

I smirked "You are on light duty."

Everyone laughed as Seth shook his head with a small chuckle.

"So who's all invited to this thing?" Leah asked me.

"Pretty much everyone," I said looking at Sue for confirmation. "It's a come one come all type thing. The more the merrier."

"And who are the guest singers?" Embry wondered.

"That, you will have to find out when you come," I smirked. I stood up to stretch. Ugh, its been too long since I had time to stretch my legs if you know what I mean.

"Oh Quil," I said as Sam's eyes darkened as he watched me.

"I got this in the mail today, you have to check it out," I said going to grab the CD Pete had sent me. I popped it in the player and turned up the sound. It was B.O.B and Hayley Williams playing our song.

"Sounds good doesn't it," I smirked at him. I loved how every time I brought up his rapping talent with this song he would just become so entranced and amazed.

"And you," I said pointing to Embry. I knew that I gave a lot attention to his best friend and not him, which oddly made him jealous, but I guess I could see why. I mean, I did stick by Embry before this- hell, I even taught him the drums and all that crap before Quil and never made as much as a fuss when the song got popular.

"Are you going to be playing?" I wondered. "I could hook you up with some songs to play the drums to," I offered.

"All by myself?" he asked. "No thank you."

"I could probably hook you up with some artist that is willing to trade out their drummer man for you, you never know," I shrugged. He looked at me wide eyed; "Now that would be sweet."

I laughed and nodded. Done.

When everyone left Sam's, I shut the door with a sigh. Life had been hectic and crazy. Sam and I haven't been on our regular patterns of anything really these past few weeks. Our time together had mostly been at Charlie's for dinner or when we are asleep next to each other in bed.

"Now its just you and me," I hummed in content as he came to hug me. I felt like I was neglecting our imprint. Sam spent most of his time complying with my needs for this fundraiser and doing patrols, but I admired him for trying to keep his promise to fix Billy's place at the same time.

"Can we go upstairs now?" I questioned as I took my head off his chest.

"You tired?" he wondered, finding it only to be a little past night.

I pulled away, dragging him to the stairs, "not exactly what I had in mind." The shift in the air changed immediately as he got my drift. With a giggle escaping my lips, he raced after me as I ran into the bedroom.

"So Billy's place is almost done?" I asked as I laid on my stomach. The thin white sheet was shoved down so it just covered my butt. I let out a hum as Sam placed random kisses all over my back.

"It should be done relatively soon," he said caressing my bare sides with his warm hands. I let out a small moan. Sam and I hadn't nearly spent enough time with each other like we usually did.

"Think he will like it?" I breathed out as Sam practically hovered on top of me as he kissed the back of my neck and shoulders.

"Hopefully," he groaned out as he continued his actions.

"Sam," I breathed out as I felt him stiff against my side. His hands moved down to my naked hips, rubbing soft teasing circles with his thumbs.

"I need you again," I moaned out as he nuzzled against the side of my face. His face soon buried itself in my neck as he rolled me onto my back to go again. My pleas filled the air, soon turning into moans. Sam always felt so good. As his hot seed filled me, my back arched and we rode out our orgasm together.

As we calmed down a bit, Sam kissed me hard against the mouth and pulled out of me. He rolled onto his side and curled up with me. "I swear, this needs to happen at least once a day," I panted out as I ran my finger over his tattoo.

"We can make that happen," he groaned, moving to kiss my neck again. My body responded to him with a jolt and he growled against me, "we definitely can make that happen."

His kisses and amazing lips started a whole 'nother something that had me rocking against him screaming out his name for the whole land of La Push to hear.


	10. Chapter 10

The day of the fundraiser came all too soon. Waking up, I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. A warm hand reached around my waist and tugged me back.

"Sam," I laughed as his strength overpowered me. My back was now against his chest.

"It's time to get up sleepy head. We have money to raise and support to gain today," I said leaning down to kiss him.

"What happened to our new tradition?" he asked with a sly grin. I let out a laugh and let the small amount of embarrassment flush my face. Sam had made it his mission to never leave the bed, after that one night, without having sex.

"When did it become a tradition?" I asked teasingly.

"Since you let me take you ever morning for the past week," he groaned as I slid my hands down past his belly button. He caught my hand before it went too far. Picking me up with ease, he positioned us so he was on top. Always the alpha. I withered under him as he took control. His grunts and words had become too much and I exploded. I swear I could see stars as he came down from his high with me.

"I need a shower," I panted as he kept his forehead on my chest. His grin was obvious and he swept me up immediately, ready to go all over again.

* * *

><p>"I swear, you are the horniest man alive," I practically moaned as he got me to drop my towel from my body. His lips came over my neck and shoulder, sucking and biting lightly. "We just stepped out of the shower," I laughed, trying to push down my arousal. He ignored my chatter, going on with his excursion. His hand traveled from the bottom of my breast to my stomach and lower. I let out a gasp, feeling my back arch on impulse.<p>

"Let me take you," he growled out as I tried to ignore my desire for him. We needed to start getting ready. There was a big day ahead of us. His fingers pushed into my core and I let out a whimper. Damn him. I tried my hardest to hold back a moan of him name but it was so hard when he was like this.

"Sam," I pleaded as the coil in my belly started to tighten. I laid my head back on his shoulder and whimpered as he continued his motions. My hands ventured to his arm, trying to show him I wanted more. He needed to give me more than just a finger or two- I wanted him faster and harder. His erection pressed up against my backside and let out another sensual moan. Sam always got what he wanted. I should have learned that.

"Oh, Fuck," I gritted out as he complied with my wishes. My orgasm rocked me hard soon after that. It made me shiver as the sparks rolled down my spine. Sam didn't waste anytime as my high slowed down. Within seconds he was in me and I was thrusting my body against his. He felt so good- so big. I came again and again, pleading for him to let go. I could tell he was so close but every time he would just stop to calm himself down and go again.

"Please baby, please," I begged as he drove me to another orgasm. Just as I peaked he let go and came inside me. We slumped against each other panting like dogs. Holy fuck that was hot.

"You good?" Sam asked huskily as he pulled out of me and settled me back on my feet.

"Great," I breathed out against his chest. When I got my bearings, I walked to the dresser and pulled out some clothes. For a while I walked around in my panties and bra, which was a tease to him- or so he thought.

"Sam," I laughed as I was in the bathroom. I needed to curl my hair, not get wrapped up in another round of passionate sex.

"No," I laughed as he tried to unclasp the front of my bra. He let out a whine but I just kissed him and went to put on one his shirts.

After my hair was done, I went to my clothes. What to wear? Sliding on some medium wash jeans, I put on a tight white tank and an olive green light three quarter length jacket. Wrapping brown skinny belt around my waist, I buckled it and added some brown boots and a long silver necklace.

"You ready?" I asked Sam while pushing some hair behind my ear as I went to find a ring to match my outfit.

"Rea…dy," Sam said taking in my appearance. I laughed feeling very flattered. His gaze went up and down my body numerous times. I thought I heard a growl, but I didn't have much time to really notice. With our morning activities, I was running late.

"Come on boyfriend," I laughed, taking him by his tight black shirt. I shut off the lights as I went, making sure we left the house with everything.

We drove to the middle of the La Push, where there was a big open park.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Embry teased. I walked up to him kissing him on the cheek.

"I'm bigger than a cat. And you boys are wolves, so technically I came in with a dog," I teased. He let out a loud laugh and kissed my cheek again.

"I heard that," Sam teasingly growled in my ear as he went to help set up. I let out a chuckle, enjoying the view of his butt as he walked off.

"So we all good?" I asked everyone. They all nodded.

"Bella!" A voice called, I spun around and found Mandy Moore walking up to us.

"Hey," I smiled at her giving her a hug.

"This place is great. Honestly I didn't know 'La Push' even existed," she blushed. I gave her a chuckle and waved it off.

"It's okay. Not many do. Oh, hey Trent," I smiled, stepping forward to give him a hug.

"So is everyone else showing up?" she asked. I nodded with a grin. What a surprise.

As the set up was almost complete, guests began to fill in and my artists began to show.

"Hey guys!" I smiled happily. Ashlee Simpson and Marie Digby showed up. I gave them the miniature tour, showing them where the bathrooms were, where they could set up and even where they could chow down on some food.

"Who's going first?" the two asked.

"I have a set list near the stage, but if you guys want to fix it up or add some things you are welcome to," I chirped. We talked a while longer later before other artists showed up too.

"Did you seriously get Maroon 5 here?" Seth asked me as he jumped down a tree. I let out a giggle. "I guess they just showed up too tree hugger?" I grinned. He rolled his eyes, ignoring my nickname for him.

"Yea, they did. Now seriously? They are here for this? Bells this is awesome," he said. Kissing his cheek, I stepped away from him to greet more guests. "Good, im glad."

After getting that band settled, I went to talk some of my own guests.

"Billy, Sue, hi dad," I said hugging and kissing them each. They stood around talking about the outcome.

"Bella, this is amazing," Charlie said.

"We're proud of you," Sue smiled.

"Well I couldn't have done it without your help," I smiled to her. "Thank you for volunteering to cook some of this food. Many people have been wanting me to give you the compliments."

She smiled, "anything I could do to help."

"Bella, you have another guest arriving," Billy told me.

"Holy crow, is that Hilary Duff?" Jake asked coming to stop behind me. I gave a laugh and walked off to talk to hug her.

"You get in okay?" I asked. She nodded talking to me about her flight.

"So set up is back over there. Take a look at the set list if you want to change anything?" I said. She nodded and I walked off.

Jesse McCartney came a bit later, sneaking up behind me as I talked to Kim.

"Ah! Look at you!" I smiled hugging the artist. Jesse was just as nice and warm as Mandy Moore. He and I were instant friends.

"I'm glad you could make it," I said as he let me go.

"Glad to see you again," he smiled.

"Oh, um, Jess, this is my friend Kim. Kim, Jesse McCartney," I smiled introducing the two. Kim was blushing like a schoolgirl as he shook her hand.

"Set up is back by the stage. Take a look at the set list, you can change things if needed," I instructed for the billionth time. He nodded and sauntered off.

"Hey," he called turning back to me. I looked over at him. "You singing today?"

I shrugged hiding my grin, "You'll just have to wait and see!"

He shook his head, enjoying my tease as he walked off.

"Oh my god. I just touched a famous person's hand," Kim said freaking out. I tilted my head back laughing. "Yo Jared, your girls spazing!" I called to him. He came over confused and looked at her.

"I touched him," she said in a daze. I busted out laughing again.

"What's going on with Kim?" Paul asked. I tried not to laugh again, but I couldn't help it.

"She touched Jesse McCartney's hand."

Paul just gave an unphased look and I laughed again. There was a bunch more newcomers entering the park. Looking over to see who had arrived, I was shocked.

Emily?

"Uh oh," Seth said wrapping an arm around my shoulder has he saw the new guest come in too.

"Great," I huffed. Paul came to stand at my other side, ready to protect me if anything else happened.

"Seriously? Doesn't she know I hosted this event?" I seethed.

"Oh man," Embry said tucking his hands around my waist.

"How about I just play the game of avoidance for a while?" I asked as the adults, such as Billy, Charlie, and Sue, saw her.

The boys each gave me a look and I just brushed it off with a smile. "Great, thank you. Now if you would please not point this out to Sam or anyone else…"

"Point what out to me?" Sam asked coming from the side of the park. I let out a muffled groan and looked at him.

"Nothing?"

He gave me that look- not going to fly.

"Bella!" Ashlee called as they were ready to start.

"Duty calls," I said ready to run away. Sam quickly grabbed my waist and put me to a halt. I let out a whine and glanced back at the boys.

"Go ahead and tell him if he doesn't already see," I heaved as I walked off from the group.

I sorted everything with the artists and helped them get set up on stage.

"Alright, Hey how are you all doin' today?" I asked in the microphone to the crowd. Everyone yelled and cheered. Smiling, I continued talking on stage. "Alright, so we have a great show for you today. There are so many amazing artists here willing to share their time with you. For all of you who don't know this, the La Push library burnt down and the community center is in the process of being done. So we are asking for your help. There are volunteer sign up sheets to help get our community center back in order at the far side of the park, along with a donation bucket going around to help with the library. What ever you can give is generous enough and enjoy the day."

Everyone hollered. Looking back at my first musician, I quickly introduced her. "Now please welcome my amazing friend and talented artist Mandy Moore!"

Many people screamed as she approached the stage and I handed her the mic. Quietly thanking me, I gave her a hug and let her do her thing.

"So does everyone know my movie 'A Walk to Remember'?" she yelled to the crowd. There was numerous 'yes's' being screamed all around.

"You okay?" a voice asked behind me as I watched off at the side of the stage. I sighed, knowing it was my loving boyfriend behind me. I guess he caught on. Turning my attention away from Mandy's talk to the crowd, I turned to him. "Yea, I'm good. She isn't going to ruin this day," I said putting my hands on his chest.

He nodded, bending his knees so we were face to face. Smiling, he gave me a long peck on the lips. I loved when he did that. Pulling away, I giggled as he kissed all over my face trying to pull away.

"Okay okay!"

He stopped those amazing kissed I loved and held me close.

"Just make sure she doesn't get too close to me okay? I don't want to be at fault for hitting the girl," I murmured. He let out a deep chuckle and kissed my head. "I can do that."

Mandy sang her song "It's Gunna Be Love". For a while Sam and I just swayed back and forth in each other's arms, almost as if we were slow dancing. Grinning up at him, I moved my arms from his waist and slid them over his neck.

"I love you," I smiled.

"Love you more," he spoke and then kissed me softly. My legs felt like jelly when we pulled away. It was a good thing he had a strong hold on me. Laying my head back on his chest, I felt beyond. He was perfect. Being here with him and supporting me with this; Emily could go to hell for all I care.

When I knew the song was coming to an end, I slipped away from Sam, giving him a peck on the lips as I went to get back up stage.

"Alright, alright," I said to the crowd as they were screaming, "Who's up for some more?"

Everyone was yelling at me, jumping up and down like crazy people. I could see some of the Pack members chuckling at me.

"Alright, this is my girl; she's coming out as a new star so be nice," I commented to the crowd. "Please, give it up for Marie Digby!"

She walked on the stage, hugging me. I gave her a wink as I went back down the stairs. Her song "Feel" came on, and she mesmerized everyone.

"So boys," I said coming into the crowd. Paul, Seth, Quil, and Embry were standing at the back listening to my girl.

"Oh, please tell me you didn't just imprint on her," I warned as Paul was mesmerized with her voice.

"What?" he asked as I nudged him hard. "No, I didn't. But damn, she is hot," he said looking her over. I let out a laugh, letting the fear drain out of me. "I can introduce you guys later if you would like," I smirked.

His eyes went wide and he scooped me up victoriously. "Seriously? Bells that would be awesome. She is fucking sexy."

Rolling my eyes at the boy I gave him a chuckle and had him run along.

"As for you three," I told the remaining.

"Amazing job on the lights Seth," I complimented. He gave me a bright smile. "There is a pie hiding in the back of the fridge, second shelf at my dad's house. I made it just for you. So your welcome to go grab it whenever you please- you know where the spare key is hidden," I smiled, kissing him on the cheek as he looked like a kid who just won the lottery.

Seth then quickly dashed off, claiming his food. "As for Quil," I smirked, "What do you think about getting up there and rapping?" I wondered. His eyes went wide. "Up there," he said looking at the stage. I nodded. "Its time to let everyone know your talent. What a better way to show them."

"I don't have words, or music, or anyone else with me. No way am I going up there alone on the spot."

I shrugged. "We can always figure something out. I'm sure Ashlee or Mandy or any one of those artists would be willing to work with you. And you don't have to go right now. You can take this time to prepare," I offered.

"Are you going up there?" he asked me. I smirked. "not telling."

"So you are," Embry said leaning forward to look at me.

"Shut it you," I playful glared at him.

"Just think about it and let me know. No pressure."

"Right," he huffed rolling his eyes.

"And you," I said walking away from Quil to be by Embry.

"You are going to be drumming for Ashlee Simpson and Hilary Duff. I tried to get you with Maroon 5, but they have a drummer so it didn't really work out," I shrugged.

"I-I don't know their music. Or the notes, or anything," he said nervously. I patted his shoulder. "Behind the stage there should be my ipod and it has a playlist of the songs they are going to be performing today. Go listen to them, ask the artists to help you if you can't figure out some of the beats," I instructed carefully.

"Are you serious? This is happening? Like now?" he asked.

"Well, it's happening soon," I said drifting away. Marie was almost done.

"Go on!" I said looking at the standing still boy as I walked backward. Quickly he got his act together and went off. Marie finished perfectly, just in time, as I made my way to the stage.

"Give it up!" I yelled in the mic. Everyone was clapping for her. Taking a sweep of the crowd, I pinpointed my dad, Sue, Billy, and the rest of the Pack, all mostly near the food and back of the crowd.

"So its great to see everyone enjoying themselves! We are going to take a quick break, and come back fresh. We still have many stars to introduce so get ready," I smiled. I turned off the mic and went to a CD of popular music. Walking off the stage, I went to go see Embry. He was freaking out of course, trying to envision the drums as he learned the beat.

"I can't do this Bella," he said taking the headphones out of his ears. "What if I mess up or play the wrong beat. They are famous, they don't mess up," he said on a ramble.

"Would you chill?" I asked. "These people are human, just like us…or well, me," I mumbled the last part. "But seriously, you are a great drummer Em. You just need to have some faith in yourself. If you want, I know the instrumental. Did you want me to show you?" I asked.

Inhaling, he let his tan, nicely muscled chest puff out and slowly relax. "Yea okay. Come demonstrate."

Smiling at his willingness, I explained to him what part of the drums I was hitting since we were working with invisible instruments. We shared a headphone, each going step by step through the songs.

"All good?" I asked letting him practice.

"Yea," he mumbled too focused on working than what I had to say. Laughing, I gave him a kiss on the cheek and went to get some food. The park was crowded. A lot of people showed up- which was a good thing.

Getting trapped in the mass of bodies, I accidentally ran into someone.

"Oh sorry!" I said apologetically as I made my way out. Glancing to see whom I had hit, I found Emily. She was glaring daggers at me.

"Oh great," I grumbled.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked with a bit.

"What do you mean?" I snapped back crossing my arms.

"Please don't tell me you still live with your father? You're still trying to get with Sam? Really?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" I wondered. She rolled her eyes at that. "Where is he anyways?" she asked looking around.

"I don't know. I'm not his keeper," I muttered.

"I heard that," she snapped.

"Not like I was hiding it," I said flatly.

She gave a scoff. "You think you are so awesome. News flash Isabella Swan," she said, saying my name funny, "your nothing. You're the reason your mom killed herself," she said with an eyebrow. She gave me a little 'mean girls' stance, which I scoffed at.

"Ladies," Sue said coming near us.

"Do you really think that comment is going to make me run off and cry?" I asked. She gave me a look. "Oh you did," I said sarcastically looking like I cared. "Well, news flash Emily Young," I said repeating her own statement, "I dealt with those issues a long time ago." I ignored Sue's way of getting us to stop. Just because the older woman stood somewhat between us didn't mean I couldn't continue to speak to the bitch. From the corner of my eyes, I could see Sue trying to get Billy's and the Pack's attention.

"Oh please. Stop trying to act all high and mighty. You are nothing but Sam's bitch."

"And you weren't?" I countered back with a raised eyebrow.

"I was his fiancée," she said proudly. I let out a scoff, feeling the presence of my boyfriend and family behind me.

"His fiancée? You're delusional right?" I asked her. "Because from what I remember, your the one that found the piece of jewelry and went all ballistic saying yes to something that wasn't even going to happen."

"Then why did he buy the ring?" Emily asked smartly.

"Hell if I knew," I said looking at the crazy lady. Sam put his warm hands on my hips and gave them a squeeze.

"Emily," Sam muttered.

"Sammy," she replied in a high pitched, whiny like voice.

"Ugh, okay. Glad we got that out of the way. Can I go now?" I asked to the witch.

"Whatever Bella. Why cant you just leave La Push. No one likes you anyways. No offense, but you're just a waste of space."

I let out a groan, "ugh please. Get over yourself. Your words mean nothing. If you haven't noticed, I'm a lot more than a 'waste of space'," I said waving my hands up in the air to make little quotes with my fingers. "And since you obviously are stupid enough to show your face around here, I will give you another update on life- I. live. Here." I said slowly.

"Doesn't mean anyone likes you," she muttered. I rolled my eyes. Was she really this stupid?

"Why the hell are you even here?" I questioned to her as the guys began to get a little antsy. Sam's hold on my hips tightened with each comment Emily was speaking. "Did you not know I was putting on this event? Because I am. If you looked down at the flyer, you would see my name was on it."

"It's a free country Bella, I can do whatever I want," she scoffed. I rolled my eyes. That so did not answer my question or hit back my comment in any way.

"That's great. Glad you are free to squander around," I grumbled. "But if you don't mind princess," I said giving her a new nickname, "I am going to go enjoy the fundraiser with my boyfriend and family."

She scoffed loudly at this, wrenching Sam's arm away from my back to tug on my hair.

"Ow," I said taking a hold of the locks of hair she had in her claws. Sam let out a growl, along with the other boys.

"Listen bitch," she said as I faced her, "Sam is mine. So back away. You don't think I've changed these past three years? That's why I am back. He is my boyfriend."

I rolled my eyes, letting out a hard breath. Could I smack her yet? Before I went to speak though, my eyebrows furrowed and I stopped whatever I was doing. "How the hell have you changed? You still look the same, you act the same, and ill be damned if I'm wrong, but you still fucking talk the same."

Her eyes narrowed at me as I stood there.

"You know, if you hadn't come into our lives, everything would have been great. I still would have had Sam and the life I always wanted."

"Well sorry Princess, but I came here. Stop living in the past and deal with it before you fuck something else up. Because I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

"Do you sleep with him?" she asked me randomly. I was bewildered again. What the hell was she getting at now? We went from her happy ending to fucking the man we had in common.

"What do you think?" I asked her. Charlie let out a mutter saying something how he shouldn't have to know that.

"Aren't you a little young?" she asked with her arms crossed, looking me over. "Or are you trying to trap him into your life by trying having a baby with him?" she asked with curiosity. I rolled my eyes, squeezing Sam's hand as he growled.

Not only was Sam's hand being used so I could calm him down, but it gave me something to hold so I didn't use my hands to slap her.

"Back off Emily," he growled.

"So its true?" she asked in amusement.

"I find that funny since you two haven't even marked each other yet. By the looks of it, Bella doesn't seem to have the seal of the imprint," she smirked. I rolled my eyes again, squeezing Sam's hand. When did my personal life become on display to everyone?

"First off princess," I said stepping closer to her, "my personal life, is none of your business. Sam is with me- he chooses to be with me, and as long as he wants me, he can be with me. As for you," I stated to Emily, getting closer to her face, "You are just here because, well, hell if I knew. I really have no fucking clue why you are here and I really don't give a damn. Stop messing in my business and get the fuck out of here before I make you."

"You don't have to be such a bitch," She commented as I backed away. "I was just stating that you didn't have the mark. And well…I wouldn't put it past you to try and seduce Sam so you could keep him. The mark is a very vital thing to a relationship- especially with him," she said with an innocent shrug. My jaw clenched as she tried to pull this all so I looked like the bad guy.

"If you haven't noticed Emily, I am a bitch. Welcome to the new world of Bella Swan. Deal with it. And stop acting like you're the shit. I don't see you wearing the mark either," I snapped. Her body went rigid. "Guess we both have something in common with Sammy boy then," I said smirking a bit. Her face was priceless.

"But the difference-" I bit out before Sam could protest on my behalf, "is that I don't want it yet. I'm choosing to wait on the whole marking thing."

"Afraid?" she wondered bouncing back from the comments I just threw at her.

"No," I said with a clenched fist. "I would explain, but you know, it's a little different when you're actually with the guy who gives you the mark. See, him and I have talked it out, so it's really none of your business," I said with my own little innocent shrug. She stayed quiet. Letting out a harsh breath, I closed my eyes. If she didn't leave in the next two minutes, I was going to lose it.

"Now that that's all settled," I said, "get the fuck out of here," I barked. The boys walked forward, guiding her to the entrance of the park.

"Oh and Emily," I said to her, "Its you I wouldn't put past to try and get yourself knocked up. I'm not that desperate to hold onto a guy who wants to be by my side just as much as I want him there," I spoke smoothly.

She broke away from Jake and Paul, stomping towards me, but before she could do anything, Embry and Seth had slid in front of me as Sam held me back. I could tell my boyfriend was upset and close to phasing, but I was steaming about the same amount as him, I couldn't find the chance to calm him down.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Seth grinned down at her.

She gave him her best glare. "Ugh, whatever. I am so sick of all of you anyways. The stupid Pack. Cooking for a whole bunch of mutts was a pain in my ass. Just you wait Bella, once they start all hanging around, you will become a slave in the house too."

"I already cook for them," I said tired of her words. They were so pointless. "And no offense Emily," I said acidly, "I love cooking. I even clean too," I said with my own little smirk. "Maybe if you stopped worrying about yourself so much- by taking your head out of your ass, and stop trying to steal _my_ man, you would see they are all really great people. It's actually nice to hang out with them."

She scowled walking off on her own flipping me the bird along the way.

"Well, that was just great," I heaved exhaustedly. Before I could glance at everyone, Sam had me in a strong lip lock, depriving me of oxygen.

"What the hell was that?" I breathed as he pulled away.

"That was awesome Bells, I couldn't have kicked ass better myself," Jared said proudly with Kim. I rolled my eyes. "I could. It would have just been easier to knock her skinny ass to the floor. But no, I had to have some self control with Sam and take the high road," I grumbled complaining loudly. Everyone laughed.

"And you," I said turning to Kim. "I was looking for you in the crowd. Your either going to hate me or love me," I said giving her a sly look.

"What?" She asked nervously.

"Well, I know you have moves," I said shrugging off my words, "so you know, I was talking to my boy Jesse back there," I said pointing to the stage, "and well, for one of his songs, he likes to have dancers up there."

"Oh my god," she whispered out. I smirked, continuing my babble. "So you know, I gave my boy a holler and told him you would be willing to dance up there with him."

She let out a high-pitched squeal and began to jump up and down. "Oh my god, oh my god," she kept repeated.

"Wait! I don't know any of the dance moves. I can't, oh Bella, I can't," she said now falling down from the high.

"There is a computer with his music videos behind the stage where you can learn. They are pretty simple so no biggy. And oh-" I said innocently while looking at the whole pack. "Did I mention that goes for all the other girls in this group too?" Sarah and Leah went wide-eyed, looking at each other to see if they had heard right. They let out girlish squeals like Kim and raced over to hug me.

"Yea, yea, can't breathe," I said as they engulfed me. Letting go, they smiled like they had just seen a miracle.

"Well, go learn the moves!" I prompted. Immediately they ran off together and I laughed.

"What did you just do?" Jared asked as he watched his girl run off.

"I just handed her her own little celebrity dream boy," I said. "But its okay," I said patting his chest, "she'll be back- flying high like the American flag."

Everyone laughed, the boys each somewhat worried for their imprints. Cole seemed cool about it though. He really seemed to fit in with the Pack and our group.

"How are you doing?" I asked to Sam as everyone else walked away. I hugged his waist, feeling his muscles were still tense.

"I should be asking you that," he said leaning down to kiss me.

"I am great. Perfect actually. I told you she wasn't going to ruin my day."

He smiled, moving some hair from my face.

"Stop looking so worried. She was grasping at straws and her words didn't get to me. I am confident in our relationship, just like you. So stop giving me that look. It's okay," I said softly. He stared into my eyes, searching deep for the truth. When he was satisfied, he tilted my head up a bit further to grasp me in a deep kiss.


	11. Chapter 11

"Alright, so who's ready to get back in the groove of things?" I yelled out to the crowd. They all came together, cheering like crazy.

"Glad to hear it," I chuckled. "Well, I have something special for ya'll that I want to share? You cool with that?"

Everyone shouted out a loud 'yea'.

"Okay, well them if you all don't mind, I think I am going to sing a song I wrote."

I captivated everyone's attention. "Now I know I am not the best singer. My job here is to write the songs, not sing them. But, I want to give you all a preview of what the song will really be like when I hand it off to my girls known as the PCD. So is everyone okay with that? You all ready to hear a song in the making?"

The mass of bodies screamed and I continued to laugh. Being up here was like a high. "Alright," I said. Turing back to look at Mandy, Hilary, and Marie as my back up, they gave me nod. For a moment, I stood there gathering my fears. It was the first time I performed in front of everyone, nonetheless a huge stage with a crowd. "I need you all to clap your hands like this for me," I said shakily as I put my hands together in a slow beat. As they did that, Sam caught my eye and I smiled. His presence called to me. "This song is called '**Stickwitu**'" _(By The Pussycat Dolls)_

I grabbed the microphone on the pole.

"_Oohooh ooh oohooh ooh..._  
><em>C'mon!<em>

_I don't wanna go another day_  
><em>So I'm telling you, exactly what is on my mind<em>  
><em>Seems like everybody is breaking up<em>  
><em>And throwing their love away<em>  
><em>But I know I got a good thing right here<em>  
><em>That's why I say (Hey)<em>

_Nobody gonna love me better, I must stick wit u forever_  
><em>Nobody gonna take me higher, I must stick wit u<em>  
><em>You know how to appreciate me, I must stick wit u, my baby<em>  
><em>Nobody ever made me feel this way, I must stick wit u<em>

_I don't wanna go another day_  
><em>So I'm telling you, exactly what is on my mind<em>  
><em>See the way we ride, in our private lives<em>  
><em>Ain't nobody gettin' in between<em>  
><em>I want you to know that, you're the only one for me (one for me)<em>  
><em>(When I say)<em>

_Nobody gonna love me better, I must stick wit u forever_  
><em>Nobody gonna take me higher, I must stick wit u (nobody)<em>  
><em>You know how to appreciate me, I must stick wit u, my baby<em>  
><em>Nobody ever made me feel this way, I must stick wit u<em>

_And now, ain't nothing else I could need_  
><em>And now, I'm singing 'cause you're so, so into me<em>  
><em>I got you, we'll be making love endlessly<em>  
><em>I'm with you (baby I'm with you)<em>  
><em>Baby you're with me (baby you're with me, higher)<em>

_So don't cha worry about_  
><em>People hanging around<em>  
><em>They ain't bringing us down<em>  
><em>I know you, and you know me<em>  
><em>And that's all that counts (hey)<em>  
><em>So don't cha worry about<em>  
><em>People hanging around<em>  
><em>They ain't bringing us down<em>  
><em>I know you, and you know me<em>  
><em>And that's, that's why I say (Hey)<em>"

I opened my eyes and found him staring at me. Everyone was. Feeling the rush, I continued to sing.

"_Nobody gonna love me better, I must stick wit u forever_  
><em>Nobody gonna take me higher, I must stick wit u (come on)<em>  
><em>You know how to appreciate me, I must stick wit u, my baby<em>  
><em>Nobody ever made me feel this way, I must stick wit u<em>

_Nobody gonna love me better, I must stick wit u forever_  
><em>Nobody gonna take me higher, I must stick wit u<em>  
><em>You know how to appreciate me, I must stick wit u, my baby<em>  
><em>Nobody ever made me feel this way, I must stick wit u<em>"

I ended with a breath. Everyone was screaming and cheering. It made me feel good.

"Alright, alright," I said calming the crowd down. "Give it up for my girls Hilary, Mandy, and Marie!" I yelled. Everyone cheered and clapped as they waved and then walked off stage.

"So our next amazing artist is none other than a hard rockin' girl. Give it up for Ashlee Simpson!"

I greeted her with smile and went to hug Embry as he walked on the stage for the drums. "You're going to do great Em," I smiled.

"You were amazing Bells," he whispered to me as I melted in his warm arms.

"Go kick ass," I smirked, kissing his cheek before running off stage.

"Bella! That was unbelievable!" Kim and Leah said to me as my feet hit the grass.

"You were amazing Bella," Sarah added. My body was lifted up from the ground and I laughed.

"My god Bells!" Jake said. He set me down, hugging me like crazy.

"Nice vocals Bella," Paul said joining our group. Ashlee had begun singing and I peered up at the stage. She was playing her song "invisible".

My body was pulled forward and I was met in a long hard, passionate kiss. "Glad you liked it," I panted to Sam as he released me. He put his forehead against mine.

"As much as I love this, and you, Embry is up there and I wanna see. Can we go find a good place in the crowd?"

Everyone nodded with me. Taking Sam's hand, he made us a clear path so we could all stand together.

"Go Embry!" I yelled with my hands cupping my lips. He smirked a bit and I knew he had heard. Embry played great. Not once did I hear a flaw in the music.

Sam kept his arms wrapped around my waist, swaying with me to the beat. Turning back to look at him, I smiled. He gave me a kiss on the nose, which I giggled to and cuddled into him.

_Dear heaven, I love this man_, I said in my head. With a content sigh, I relaxed in Sam's muscular arms, snuggling my head to tuck under his and enjoyed the music. When Ashlee finished her song, she gave it up for her drummer Embry. Everyone was so proud of him, especially me.

Calming down the crowd, I gave the two a hug and introduced our next artist. "So our next special guest is a band I just recently had the opportunity to meet. Can I hear some noise?" I teased to the crowd. Things became a bit louder and I had to laugh. "Give it up for Maroon 5!"

I shook hands with Adam and gave him a brief hug. He started playing "This Love" as I walked off stage.

Embry swept me up in his arms and twirled me around. "That was the best thing ever."

Laughing, I gave him a quick hug before turning to our group who had joined us.

"Care to dance?" Sam asked with a hand out to me. Smirking, I shot everyone a wink before slipping my hands in his and walking away with my man. Sam found us a spot, easily wrapping me into his arm, dancing lightly. Spinning me in circles and occasionally dipping me, I continued to laugh. He was so calm and collected. He was everything.

Maroon 5 ended their song and played another. "Sunday Morning."

"I love you," I told Sam as we continued to dance. He stared into my eyes, slowly dipping his head down to kiss me. "I love you too," he murmured. We continued to dance together for a while before I remembered who was up next.

"Come on, lets go check on the girls," I smiled breaking away from the crowd. "They're up next."

He brought his head up to his lips, kissing our entwined hands as I led the way.

"You girls ready?" I asked. Kim looked like she was freaking out, Sarah seemed nervous and Leah actually looked pale.

"It's going to be okay you guys know that right?" I asked the three.

"We are going up there with Jesse McCartney, its never going to be okay," Kim said practically hyperventilating. All three guys were trying to calm down their girls.

"Well…you don't have to go," I told them trying to make the situation better.

"No!" Sarah protested. I laughed shaking my head. "Okay."

"Hey, you girls ready?" Jesse asked coming over. I smiled, giving him a quick hug. "Your dancers will be ready in a few. I am going to run over the moves with them. You need anything?" I asked. He shook his head. Squeezing my hand, he went off to the side stage.

"You two look cozy," Leah grumbled under her breath. I narrowed my eyes at her and told the girls to gather around.

I went over move by move with them slowly. Each of them looked concentrated. "All good?" I asked spinning to them.

"Go over that last move again," Sarah said. Turning back around, I did as I was told.

"Okay, show time," I said as Maroon 5 went quiet and the crowd went wild. Each of us gave our boys a kiss and walked over to the stage.

"Give it up for Maroon 5!" I yelled. "Now, for our next guest I have one of my closest friends here. He has been lucky enough to show up to this great event. Please show some love for Jesse McCartney!"

Pretty much every girl in the park went wild, screaming for the young man. He walked on stage, hugging me as we laughed together.

"You girls ready?" I asked the three. They took in a breath, slowly nodding.

"Treat my girls right," I teased to Jesse as I walked off stage. The boys met me waiting, so we could all go watch our 'family' together.

"Is that my Leah?" Sue asked coming to stand behind us with the other older adults.

"Sure is," I grinned as Jesse starting singing 'Body Language'.

"So I think today was a hit," Billy smirked at us. I grinned too, squeezing Sam's hand. Glancing up at my dad, I saw him pretty happy too. "The donation buckets have gone around a few times. I think when Hilary sings I will pass them out again," I told the group. They nodded and we all went back to watching the girls dance on stage.

* * *

><p>The rest of the fundraiser went by smoothly. Jesse McCartney and I talked a little bit afterward he finished performing and he said the trio was great. Kim and the girls were ecstatic to be even near him. Hilary Duff sang her song "Fly" while Embry got to be on drums again and the rest of the singers came around to sing some more while the day turned into night. When everything was over, I thanked not only the audience for coming but also the artists.<p>

"Jesse, it was great to see you," I said hugging him.

"Stay in touch with me okay?" he said squeezing my hand. "I want to know when you start traveling again. It's going to be you and me for another song."

Smiling, I squeezed his hands back and nodded. He took off a few minutes later and I sighed. He was a great artist. If only the traveling thing came true.

"That was awesome," Mandy said coming over to me.

"I'm glad you liked it," I said hugging her goodbye. "Bella, you really do need to think about traveling again."

I looked away at my family feeling guilty. Mandy caught my line of sight and laid her hand on my shoulder. "They are really great people. You have such a great family here and they would be a wonderful support system. Your career is waiting. I really don't want you to watch it pass by. Just give it a thought," she said kindly. With one last hug goodbye, she promised to call every once and a while.

Hilary, Marie, and Ashlee all came over to give me a hug- each with the same amount of words of wisdom. Hilary did add that what I was doing was great and she would be happy to help out with more if she ever could. That made my spirits lift a little.

I said goodbye to the band Maroon 5, told them I was in their debt for coming. From there, after all of the musical entertainment groups and guests left, I helped the Pack clean up. Sue was counting the donations money at the table, and the rest were scattered all around.

"Need help with the lights?" I asked to Seth who was up in a tree.

"I have become a ninja at this thing. I swear, in my next life I am going to be a monkey," he stated going from limb to limb. I laughed, shaking my head at his craziness. Moving on from Seth, I watched as the boys took down the stage and moved it into a company truck.

"Sad to see it all go huh?" Charlie asked me.

"It was a great night," I stated.

"I'm proud of you Bells," he told me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Thanks dad," I smiled, leaning into his side.

"$2,558," Sue said coming over to us. "Bella, this is such great money. I can believe we raised that much. It seems unrealistic."

"Well, it was for a great cause and we had celebrities," I chuckled.

"What are you going to put it towards?" Sue wondered. "The library and community have been paid for by you. And I know you aren't keeping the money…" she said confused.

"Its going towards the library," I confirmed. "There is going to be a recreation room built for the teens - almost like a big study longue where they can talk and hang out, so this money will go towards some of that. Then there will be some funded towards books, magazines, movies, dictionaries, you name it. A lot of that stuff was burnt down in the fire, so the money will come in good use to rebuy some of that."

"That's very thoughtful of you Bella," Sue said kindly. We all smiled and then tore our eyes towards the radio playing. Leah, Kim, Sarah, and some of the guys were all goofing off in the open space.

Sam wrapped his arms around my waist a little while later, holding me close. "Can we go home now?" I asked tiredly.

I could feel the happiness bubble in his chest as I claimed my home as his. I actually didn't even realize I did that until I felt happiness hit me like a brick. Instinct I guess.

"Yea baby, lets go," he said kissing my temple as he took my hand. We said goodbye to the guys and hopped in the truck.

* * *

><p>I must have been exhausted because the next thing I know, I'm opening my eyes and Sam is carrying me to the bedroom.<p>

"What's up?" I asked groggily. He looked down at me with a smile.

"You fell asleep. I was taking you up to bed," he said setting me down on the comfy mattress.

I let out a hum of approval while snuggling into the sheets.

"Are you coming to lay down with me?"

He brushed some hair away from my face. "In a bit. There is a Pack meeting tonight. I'll be back as soon as I can."

I frowned a bit. Kissing my head softly, he got up and went to leave. Catching his wrist, I brought him back over to me and kissed him like he should be kissed. Wrapping a hand behind the back of his neck, I deepened our kiss and made sure it was unforgettable.

"I love you. Be safe okay?"

He nodded, nuzzling into my face. "I love you too. I'll be back soon."

He kissed my neck softly, and giving me one last kiss before I let him go to do his duties. Lying back on the bed, I let out a tired sigh. I should get up and change- get ready for bed and all that jazz but I was exhausted.

Forcing myself out of bed after Sam left, I turned on the shower and stepped in. after washing and rinsing my hair and body, I wrapped myself in a towel and changed for the night. I padded out of the bathroom nice and dry and hit the pillow. Today was great. Besides the whole Emily ordeal, everything went smoothly. I was proud.

When I woke up again it was around 1am. Sam was quietly crawling into bed beside me.

"How'd it go?" I wondered now snuggling next to him. He was warm and toasty, just what I loved.

"Good- long," he sighed, hugging me to him. I laid my hand on his bare chest, enjoying his muscular chest.

"Anything important?" I wondered tiredly. He ran his hand up my shirt and snuggled closer to me.

"Nothing you need to worry about," he mumbled. My eyes slowly opened and I propped myself up a bit to look at him.

"Sam," I warned. He was hiding something.

"We just talked about the vampire that bothered you and Claire," he said looking at me.

"Has she returned?" I wondered, trying not to let fear lace my voice.

"Not around here. We'll talk about it tomorrow okay? I promise you, it's nothing you need to worry about baby," he told me with assurance. I bit my lip and nodded. Laying my head back on his chest, I drew little doodles on his skin and then fell asleep a few minutes later.

* * *

><p>The next morning had come too soon. Sam was still sleeping beside me- my body wrapped up in his arms. Tactically sliding out of them, I shut our curtains so the daylight wouldn't wake him up and padded my way downstairs. The morning was quiet. Starting up the coffee machine, I pulled out some food from the fridge and began making lunch. No doubt the boys would be over here soon. It was 10:45. They weren't known to skip out on lunch. After making and cutting up a dozen sandwiches or so, I went to go grab some sweatpants. I was pretty sure by the Leah always complained that they weren't the fondest of seeing me model Sam's shirts either. I snuck into the bedroom grabbing a pair of my sweatpants. Sam was still sleeping soundly. Leaving our room again, I went back downstairs and began setting the table.<p>

"Hey Bells," Jake said coming in our door. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing his spot at the table.

"Here, dig in," I said while putting a bunch of sandwiches in the middle of the table.

"Where's Sam?" he wondered.

"Still sleeping," I said making some more food as Embry now came into the house.

"Morning," I smiled; enjoying the kiss he gave me from behind.

"Looks good," he complimented, sitting down at the table too. Soon, Leah and Paul had joined our group.

"I danced with Jesse McCartney yesterday," Kim said coming in with Jared. I let out a laugh as the man rolled his eyes.

"Glad you had fun Kim," I smiled while grabbing some orange juice out of the fridge.

The couple sat down at the table, grabbing some more of the food I had set out.

"Morning," I smiled to Sam as he came over to give me a kiss.

"Hi," he said in his deep voice that I loved.

The rest of the Pack shuffled in, eating food. When mostly everyone was done, they all put their plates on the sink.

"Where are you all off to?" I wondered as most of the guys started leaving.

"Claire," Quil stated.

"Sarah," Jake smiled.

"Patrol," Paul said.

"With him," Embry said, nodding over to Paul.

"And you two?" I wondered to Jared and Leah, "patrol."

I furrowed my eyebrows. Since when was there increased patrol by 4 people?

"We're staying," Collin and Brady said with some confidence. I looked over at the boys with a small smile. The guys all left and it made me feel queasy. Is this the kind of thing they went over in a Pack meeting?

Walking over to the sink, I began washing the dishes. I could feel Sam watching me with worry.

"Bella, did you want to go shopping today? I need a few things," Kim said sweetly.

"Yea, sure," I smiled. I went back to doing dishes. "Here, I got this," Sam said coming up behind me. He stuck his hands in the soapy water and entwined them with mine. With a small kiss to my temple, he calmed me down in a nice subtle way.

"What's going on?" I asked him worried.

"We'll talk later okay? You just have fun with Kim," he murmured in my hair.

"Sam," I said looking up at him hesitantly.

"It's okay," he said kissing my nose, "don't worry okay?"

I sighed and nuzzled in his neck. Whenever he said that it made me more nervous.

"Promise you'll tell me when I get back?"

"Promise baby."

Nodding, I took in a deep breath, squeezed his hands under the water again and went to get ready to start my day.

"I'll be ready in 20," I told Kim as I went to go get ready. I jumped into the shower as fast as I could, pulling out some clothes as I rushed out.

When I was dressed and my hair was a little bit drier, I shuffled back out to the kitchen and grabbed my purse. "Lets go," I smiled. Saying goodbye to all the boys, Kim and I made our way to her car and off to the mall.

"So do you know what went on with the Pack meeting last night?" I questioned to her. She shook her head, "I wish. I'm a bit worried too but Jared said I had nothing to worry about. He said he would fill me in later."

"Sam too," I sighed.

"He probably didn't tell me yet because Sam wanted to tell you. I'm sure its nothing Bella," she said reassuringly.

"They were tracking the vampire that was with Claire and I," I said with the emotion in my voice, "that's something Kim."

"It'll be okay," Kim said looking over at me. I nodded and stared out the window. The trees passed us quickly.

"So what do you need from the mall?" I wondered.

"New clothes. I swear, every time I look through my wardrobe its like pulling teeth. I feel like I have nothing cute to wear."

"You look cute today," I complimented.

"Yea, and you have no idea how long it took me to put this all together. My room is in havoc because of it."

I giggled a bit.

"What about you?" Kim wondered.

"I could use some new lingerie, maybe some new clothes or jewelry too. I don't know."

"Well, we can look," Kim smiled. We got to Port Angeles in a short amount of time. Stepping out of the car we began our little adventure.

Bags beyond bags were overflowing in the car when we left. Kim had purchased a ton of new things and I managed to purchase everything I wanted and needed. The two of us both got a new swimsuit, some lingerie, and even a new pair of shoes. Kim had managed to snag a few sundresses and numerous tops. I grabbed a few tees, tanks, and skirts- nothing too important.

"That was tiring," I said as we were on our way back home.

"But well worth it," Kim added. I nodded in agreement. Definitely well worth it; not only did it help fill my wardrobe but it also helped me get my mind off of the whole vampire thing. It let me be a girl for once- a normal girl.

"Thanks for today Kim," I said getting out of the car with my hands full of backs.

"Anytime, call me later," she said. I nodded and watched her drive away before going inside. The house seemed quiet and was surprisingly empty. There was not a guy in sight.

Letting out an exhausted breath, I took of my shoes and went to go put my new things away.

My cell phone rang a few minutes later as I was cutting off some tags. Sighing, I ran to my purse to grab the device.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Bella, its Pete. Are you busy?" he wondered.

"No, what can I do for you?" I wondered as I went back to the bedroom to finish putting things away. We talked for a while. He was hoping for some more songs. And I guess there was this award ceremony for artists and writers in a few months. Apparently I was supposed to go?

After hanging up with him, I sat cross-legged on the bed with a legal pad and a pen in my hand. What was I supposed to write? My mind was consumed with the whole vampire ordeal. I sat there for almost an hour and a half with no clue what to write. Getting tired of peering down at blank white lined paper, I plugged in my ipod in the speakers. I tried to find a beat through numerous songs. There was nothing. I couldn't think.

Getting frustrated, I chucked my pad or paper and pen across the room.

"Everything okay?" Sam wondered now standing in the doorway.

"You're home," I said a bit surprised.

"I am," he affirmed still watching me. "Everything alright?"

I sighed and laid back on the bed. That was a loaded question. I opened my mouth to answer his question with sarcasm, but even then I was too tired to think of some snarky comment. Staying quiet, I stared up at the ceiling with my hands on my forehead. Everything was starting to come down on me slowly but surely. It was like the frustration with my music was the last straw.

The vampire bothered me; having Sam talk about it in his meetings bothered me; Pete bothered me- I wasn't some god damn machine that could just produce music out of my mouth- everything bothered me. Life bothered me.

Sam's feet shuffled on the floor, walking closer to the bed.

Trying hard to ignore his presence, I wanted so badly just to find peace. I was in a weird mood today. How? I don't know. My mood started out good. I woke up good. Life was supposed to be good. I got what I wanted with my fundraiser, I told Emily off, and I raised a bunch of money. Why wasn't I feeling good?

Feeling frustrated with myself, I let out a huff and took the pillow from behind my head and smothered my face with it. Why was I feeling like I wanted to punch a wall? Or maybe it wasn't even that, I was just…tired yet angry.

Sam set a hand on my arm and slowly went to pry the pillow from my face.

"No," I whined while pressing it against me harder. I felt better with the pillow. I could no longer see life with my eyes. The weight of the bed shifted beside me and I knew he was now lying down.

"Sam, don't," I whined moving the pillow from my face a bit. He ran his warm hands over my body, knowing how to get me to relax and open up. But I didn't want to relax. I didn't want him to touch me or tell me everything was okay. I just didn't want to be right now if that made sense. I didn't want to feel like I existed.

"What's going on?" he asked, "what's wrong?"

I ignored the question because I wasn't sure how to respond. Nothing? Everything? I couldn't give him an answer because I didn't know. Pete wasn't really the problem, the Pack wasn't the problem; was the vampire the problem?

"Bella," he asked again in a deep voice. I kept my face covered with the pillow wondering if it was possible for the mattress to swallow me whole. If I pressed into the bed hard enough would I finally sink in it and never come out?

He went to pry the pillow away from me again. I let out whines and pleas of protest, but he slid it from my grasp and set it behind him. Little wisps of my hair were in my face and I made sure to turn away.

I didn't want comfort. I just wanted to be left alone. He brushed his hand across my face and I turned away. He was hurt- I could feel that small pang in my heart. Sighing, I felt guilty now. Great, just add it to the stack. Moving around, I laid on my stomach and laid my face in the mattress. I wanted to disappear. I wanted it badly.

"What happened?" he asked again, now almost pleading.

My eyes welded with tears. Now I was making him worried and hurt. Why did I have to be me?

I couldn't give him an answer because I didn't know. Right?

I huffed to myself. Maybe I did know, I just needed to let it out. Maybe it was like that time when I was with Embry and I didn't know the melody to my song. I just needed to try to let it out and go with the flow. But I didn't know where to begin.

Propping myself up on my forearms, I went to open my mouth, but nothing came out. Literally. My mind went blank and I couldn't form a sentence.

This made me feel even more helpless and frustrated. Sam didn't know what was wrong; I didn't know what was wrong. So what the fuck was wrong? I knew something was. I could feel it. It was consuming me, so why couldn't I say anything.

I turned my head away from him, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. Was I PMSing? No. Was I having a bad day? No, not really. Did someone piss me off? Was it Pete? No.

Fuck my life.

Sam's hand slid down to my lower back. Pushing up my shirt, he rubbed his hand there in slow motions. He eased my tense muscles and made me relax a bit. How did he know this? How could he read me like that?

My head slowly turned back to him after a while. I didn't meet his eyes but I did stare down at his chest. He must have been out with the boys or on patrol. He didn't have a shirt on and was wearing cut offs. Of course, that was his normal attire too but if he were to be out in public he would have put on a shirt.

His chest rose and fell. The muscles and his tan skin moved with in a smooth motion as he breathed. He was so even and constant with every breath, almost like he was in my life. He never gave up on me, even when I made sure to give up on him. I pushed away so many times but he always held onto me in some way, never letting go.

"Will you hold me?" I asked him, still just watching his chest. He nodded and pulled me closer to him. I cuddled up with my face to his chest. His warm hands and arms eloped my body, smothering it with warmth. I felt his heartbeat against me and his legs wrap together with mine.

"Did something happen when you went shopping with Kim?" he wondered. "Did you not have fun?"

I stayed silent for a bit, running my fingertips over his skin in a light, soft motion. "No I did. It was a lot of fun. I bought a bunch of things."

"Did something happen when you got home then?" he asked. I knew he was trying to figure it out for himself what set me off.

I thought about what happened when I was home. I wasn't mad at Pete or my music. Today just wasn't a good day to write I guess. Maybe I needed to go to the Cullen's.

"No, not really," I spoke sadly.

"Then what is it baby?" he asked looking down at me.

"I don't know," I confessed, still drawing patterns on his chest. "Sam? Will you tell me about the Pack meeting now?" I asked hesitantly. I wasn't sure if that was causing my funky mood, but I needed to clear my head and that was something that was on it.

"Is that what it is wrong?" he wondered.

"I don't know," I confessed, "I…please," I begged now looking up at him. I felt a bit broken again, kind of like when I was when I came back with Claire. It was weird to feel that way because nothing traumatic was happening.

He sighed and hugged me tighter, making sure I felt a bit more safe and secure. Kissing the top of my head he ran a hand through my hair. "We picked up her scent a few times these past few weeks around Forks and La Push. It hasn't been near us or where we would go, but it's still around. I increased patrol just in case she was to show up. She's a slippery thing and I want everyone to be ready when we have another chance to catch her."

"What do you think she wants?" I wondered.

"I don't know baby. At first we just thought she was passing through but then she continued to come back. She drifts around Forks and La Push a lot. I just want to take precautions."

"Do you think she's been hurting people?"

"There hasn't been any mysterious attacks, but we never know. Vampires are tricky."

He rubbed my back and kissed my head, "but you have nothing to worry about. I don't want you to feel scared. She's not anywhere near here okay?"

I nodded mutely still thinking everything over. My weird mood was lifted a bit, but not by much.

"Did that help?" he asked.

I shrugged the best I could, "sort of, not really."

I laid my forehead on his chest and closed my eyes, "I don't know what's going on with me. I just feel off."

"Its okay, we all have those days."

I hugged myself as close as I could to him, praying that when I woke up again I wouldn't feel so sad and depressed.


	12. Chapter 12

Wishes never came true for me, and when I woke up, I knew my mood hadn't changed. Sam was still awake, making sure to keep me close. As I stirred, his attention began to shift down to glance at me.

"Not any better huh?" he asked reading my face. I shook my head and let him kiss me softly. "Are you hungry?" he wondered. I shrugged not really feeling famished or full.

"Baby, tell me how to help you," he pleaded while running his hand through my hair.

I felt helpless again. I didn't know. Burying my face into Sam, I just hugged him tight and wished I could figure out what the hell was going on with me. We stayed nested together for the longest time. While lying there I tried to figure out what was going on. I didn't really have a reason for my crazy mood. It just felt like one of those times where nothing was right and it was all falling apart.

Sam's stomach grumbled, which had me smiling a bit. "You're hungry, we should get up," I said trying to pry myself from his arms. He held me close though, making sure to not let me up.

"I can do it. I got it," he said sliding away from me. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Anything you want to make," I smiled now cuddling into his warm spot.

"Alright, I'll be right back," he murmured while bending down to kiss my temple. He got up and left our bed.

It was taking him a while, which made me a bit antsy. He was a good cook so there was nothing to be worried about, but I missed his company. Getting up from the bed, I quickly changed into some comfier clothes and went to see what he was doing.

His backside was to me as I entered the kitchen. He was at the stove cooking something.

"What are you making?" I asked, wrapping my arms underneath his shoulders.

"I thought you were supposed to stay in bed," he hummed as I kissed his bareback.

"I missed you," I mumbled as I hugged me to him. He let out a chuckle and went to wrap an arm around me.

"Grilled cheese and soup. Yummy," I commented as I saw the huge platter of food. Just as he was finishing up, my eyes caught the window and saw the familiar vampire. I sucked in a breath and went stiff. She glanced over at me wide-eyed, frozen in shock too.

"Sam," I breathed in fear. My hands were clenched around him in fear. She was here. He glanced over at me and then saw why I was upset. Immediately he took action, dropping everything. "Stay here!" he commanded, glancing at me before backing away and running out of the house to go get her. The vampire sped off with no delay. My heart was pumping furiously. Sam couldn't go out there on his own. He could get hurt, he could…oh god.

Shaking myself out of my temporary paralysis, I ran to the phone and called Jake. No one picked up at his house so I called Jared and then Quil next. Neither of them picked up either, what the heck was going on? Finally, calling Embry he picked up the phone and I immediately told him the story. He reassured me some pack members were on patrol but he would rush and phase too.

Hanging up with him my heart continued to thump. My unsure feelings began to grow and I reacted on instinct- I ran to my mate. Taking off, I rushed out through the same door Sam went through and ran in the direction the two went.

I wasn't sure where I was going though. I just kept running through the thick trees like a crazy person. Finally I got to a clearing and saw the vampire. She was standing there, almost looking hurt while shocked beyond reason as a wolf cornered her by a rock, growling.

It was Embry, thank god. I felt relieved for a bit, but then I realized no one else was here. Where was Sam? And I thought others were on patrol?

"I'm so sorry," the vampire cried tearlessly as she saw me. I gave her the most confused look. Why was she upset?

"I-I didn't mean to hurt him. I loved him too. I just wanted to be like you," she said. Embry growled at her and I hesitantly stepped forward. Was Sam hurt? Was that why my heart was now aching?

I continued to step closer and Embry turned to focus on me. His eyes were telling me to step back. They were vicious and cold, but underneath that I saw sadness and hurt. Oh no.

"What happened?" I croaked to the dog.

He stared at me.

"I hurt him," the vampire said. Embry snapped at her and she swiped her hand at his big head. He went flying and I jumped a bit. The vampire's eyes went wide, as if she didn't mean to do that.

"Embry!" I yelled rushing over him. I kneeled beside the large animal, tucking my hair behind my ears as I examined him. He just seemed to be knocked out a bit.

"You need to call for back up," I whispered to him quietly as he was regaining conscious. "Hurry," I said again before getting up.

I was being foolish. Sam wouldn't be very happy to see me doing this right now but he was hurt, and I needed to get the Cold One to calm down.

"What did you do?" I said barely whispering, "what did you do to Sam?"

"I didn't mean to," she said with a bit of a bite in her tone. She no longer seemed sad like before. She stared at me, her eyes softening again, "he was chasing me, and before I knew it we were fighting. I didn't mean to hurt him. I was going to be with him," she explained.

There was a sinking feeling in my stomach. Peering over with my peripheral vision I saw Embry was now up and gone, howling in the wind. The noise angered the vampire and I tried to calm down my rapid beating heart. I needed a distraction.

"What do you mean you were going to be with him?" I asked with a bit of falter in my voice.

She stared at me and then super sped so she was right in my face, I let out a gasp and took a small step back. She gave me a predatorily smile and stepped forward again, this time grabbing my wrist so I couldn't back away.

"You have it all," she said now tilting her head to the side. She raised her hand and brushed some of my brown locks from my face. I shivered at her cold touch.

"You have the life I always wanted- the life I wished to have."

I let out a shaky breath and continued to stare at her. Her eyes were a bright red and her skin oh so pale. Her dirty blond hair was in curly trills like mine.

"I studied you, for the longest time. When I saw you with that little girl on the beach, it was just so…mesmerizing. I had to know you, I had to become you," she spoke softly.

"Become me?" I asked slightly afraid.

"You're a magnificent creature. A creature I wish I still was," she said sadly. I wasn't sure how to respond to that. I knew every word I said needed to be taken into careful consideration. With one wrong move, I could be gone.

"What's your name?" I croaked.

"Devin," she spoke still rubbing my hair.

"Then Devin, why would you want to be me? You have your own life, I'm sure you have your own family," I said shakily. She gave me a murderous laugh, tilting her head back to the sky.

"Family? My family- I ate my family after I was turned. I couldn't handle the bloodlust. I needed it, I craved it. And they were there, I had to drink them."

My heart raced in my chest and I found it hard to breath. She drank her family dry? Oh god, what was I doing?

"I was passing through here, I wasn't going to stay," she told me calmly, "but you were here and even when I left, I had this nagging sensation. I needed to come back; but your wolves, those pesky dogs. They kept getting in my way. They kept tracking me and I had to do circles around the area before I could continue to watch you."

I tried to not let out a whimper as she leaned to my neck and smelt my blood. "You're blood smells incredible. And once you are sucked dry to the bone, I can be you."

"No one will fall for it," I said with as much dignity as I could muster. She let out a laugh and smirked evily at me. "I have your mechanisms down to the tee. See, the way you bite your lip," she said mimicking the motion, "or the way you gasp." She let out a noise. "Or how about the way your body reacts when that man Sam touches you?" she questioned now trying to read my face.

"A little dye to my hair, some makeup, and some contacts, I will be good to go," she smirked. My brain thought rationally as she spoke. It would never work. The Pack would smell her; Sam would never see her as my replacement- we had an imprint bond after all, and no one would fall for it.

I wasn't sure what to say to Devin though. I was a bit confused. Did she not know that the wolves were the guys? Or did she know and she was just too crazy to admit it to herself? I could piss her off some more by shoving the rules of imprinting in her face, but how would that end for me? For some odd reason, I could feel the presence of the Pack nearing and I knew for her to be destroyed I would need to move out of the way. How was I to do that?

"What about your super speed? And strength? How are you going to keep that from everyone? How will you be around human people without drinking them dry?" I asked nervously. She studied me some more.

"I have those things under control. And compulsion is always a good thing to use. They will be like my meals on legs."

"What about kids?" I wondered shakily now. She was zooming in on my neck. "Sam wants kids and vampires can't procreate."

She growled at me, "I know what vampires can and cannot do."

I swallowed hard and nodded, "but…"

Her eyes went mad and she smacked me across the face. This caused me to fall back. Her body towered over me with dark angry eyes, "I'll tell him I can't have kids. I'm infertile. Something went wrong- I don't know. He's mine," she growled. I began sliding away slowly on the ground, nearing the edge of the woods where the wolves were. Devin was becoming uncontrollable. Before the vampire could do anything to bring me back closer to her, the guys stepped out of the forest, growled at her and pounced. Paul, who was in wolf form, dragged me backwards by the back of my shirt in his teeth. He stayed in front of me, protecting me from whatever danger could possibly occur.

My mind was now reeling for answers. The guys were taking care of the vampire Devin and now I was back to my thoughts. My head rushed back to my body and every possible question I had hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Where's Sam?" I asked. Paul looked back at me and his eyes changed from hard to sad- just like Embry. My heart raced and I knew something was wrong. He wasn't exactly hurt because he wasn't in pain, but I couldn't feel him alive and wanting me either.

I let out a little whimper and thought of all the things that went wrong. Sam. My life. "You have to bring me to Sam, I want to go to Sam," I told Paul. He glanced back at the scene in front of him. The guys now had Devin ripped in pieces. Nodding, he made me get on his back and we took off.

We were going back to the Cullen's house. Why?

As Paul morphed back into a human, I walked towards the house and saw my long lost family zooming towards me.

"I am so sorry Bella," Alice breathed. She hit me like a bag of potatoes. I was stunned for a few seconds and Paul growled.

"What's going on? Why are you here?" I wondered.

"I- well we…umm…" Alice stuttered while twisting her hands. I stared at her for the longest time, trying to get everything all together. "You saw my future didn't you?" I whispered with pain. If she saw my future that meant Sam wasn't a part of it.

Alice's face broke and even she looked in pain, "Yea," Jasper said coming to hug his wife.

"Where's Sam?" I asked softly. There were tears in my eyes but I wouldn't let them fall. Not yet.

"Come with me Bella," Edward said softly. Paul growled a bit so I just took his hand, squeezing it as I led him with me. Carlisle was walking out of one of the bedroom doors as we made our way to the second level.

"He's stable," Carlisle said. "We can talk after you see him," the doc said patting my arm. I nodded, letting go of Paul's hand to see my boyfriend. Everyone stayed back as I opened the door to enter. When I saw him, my breath was taken away. He was lying on the large bed, almost in a state of sleeping.

It wasn't hard to figure out. He was in coma. That's why I couldn't exactly feel his pain and worry, he was alive but not at the same time.

"Oh god," I said going to his side.

I sat at the edge of the bed, taking his hand in mine. It was still warm but limp. The tears finally fell down my face and I knew better than to wipe them away. He was lifeless.

"You shouldn't had gone baby," I said softly. My hands drifted to his face, lightly running my fingertips over his features. "I shouldn't have let you go. We shouldn't have gotten out of bed," I said trying not to sob my eyes out. My hands drifted down to his bare chest. It was still moving up and down like I saw when we were laying on our bed together hours earlier but now there were bruises and gauze pads covering battle wounds.

Tears rolled down my cheeks harder and my heart broke. It was like I couldn't breath. Everything felt…empty. I took off my shoes and curled up beside him in bed. He couldn't leave me like this. I needed to be with him.

"Sam," I said brokenly. His body stayed limp as I laid beside him. There were no arms to hold me close or brush fingers through my hair. There was no action whatsoever.

I don't know how long it was that I stayed beside Sam. Time seemed like nothing. It was pointless and limitless. Without Sam in my life it was like there was nothing to live for. Everything felt empty and cold. I stayed by his side, drawing little patters with my finger over his chest. I wanted to be back where we were hours ago, laying in bed together.

"Bells," Jake said coming in. Tears fell from my eyes and I felt my heart crumble again. I pulled myself tighter against Sam, craving his arms to hug me tight.

"Sweetie," he said softly, slowly coming near me.

"This-…is…all my..fa-ault…" I sobbed out. "He s-shou…dn't have go…ne out," I said. Jake kneeled beside me and moved some hair from my face. "H-e….was going down….to make us din-ner…" I explained while taking in breaths. "I w-a-as up-pset today….i don't know why," I said. Tears kept falling and falling. I was wishing so bad that Sam's arm would just come up and touch my face. I wanted him to say something or do something. I needed his lips on mine.

"Come here," Jake said picking me up. I went a bit hysterical as I left Sam's arms, but when I felt Jake hold me close, I calmed down a bit. "Its okay. It's going to be okay," he said taking me out of the room. Edward was standing outside in the hall, waiting to close the door as Jake carried me out.

My heart clenched in pain as I thought about being away from Sam. Why was this happening? As my cries escaped my lips, Jake held me tighter, now rocking me a bit as he sat himself on the couch with the Pack and the Cullens around him.

"Shhh," he said softly, trying to help me calm down. Everyone watched as I sat there with Jake, broken in pieces. Rosalie soon came over to me, moving carefully as the Pack seemed cautious of her intentions. Kneeling down beside me, she touched the side of my face and smiled sadly, "You're going to be okay. We're going to help you through this."

Staring at her honest and beautiful face, I slowly nodded, trusting her words. Our relationship was weird. I remember when Edward was telling me that this woman was jealous of my humanity and me. Anyone in his or her right mind would be jealous of her; hell even I was. But as she sat near me, giving me the phrase the same phrase that many others would 'it will be okay', somehow I found with her saying it, she really meant it; and that it would eventually be okay.

"Is she dead?" I croaked out. I knew she was. The guys would never come back if she wasn't, but hearing it was something I needed. "Yea Bells, she's gone," Embry said.

Rosalie moved to sit next to Jake near my head. Having her around elevated my pain just a bit.

"Why did she want to be me?" I wondered aloud. It was something I couldn't get out of my head. What was it about me that made her want to have my life? I mean, yes, I knew I was lucky. I had all of the guys, their mates, and my amazing boyfriend. But why become me? How was I that great of a person?

"She's crazy," Quil summed up.

"Its more than that," Rosalie said. Everyone gave her a raised eyebrow and growled at her a bit.

"Stop," I said softly. I didn't want any more people to fight, especially with her, "please." Everyone went quiet and gave me those sad eyes again. Rosalie was helping me- in an odd way.

"I think that the woman was trying to be you because you're such a unique person," she started, "when vampires change, everything is heightened. Its not just our senses but our emotions," she spoke, watching me close. "With what the boys have told me, that woman was a newborn."

"So you think she became attached because she just turned into a vampire," I asked skeptically.

"When you first change," Rosalie said with a bit of pain in her eyes, "everything changes- you're senses, emotions and the people around you. All you have is blood lust. And when the woman saw you, I think she was so fascinated and wanting her old life back that she projected it onto you."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "So…what? I was at the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"Maybe," Rosalie said. "All I know is that becoming a vampire changes things. It flips a person's life upside down. When you feel sad, you're in despair. When you're hurt, your in such discourage it knocks you to your knees. And finding that one person, a person who can help you relief the pain or bring you closer to your old life…it makes you get attached."

I let out a shaky breath and let her continue, "If I hadn't met these people I call family; if I hadn't met Emmett, I think I could be that woman- the one you call crazy," she said looking at Quil. "We all could have been that if it wasn't for love."

My heart clenched at her words- love. Sam and I had that. And now he's gone. Well in a state of being gone.

"When do you think he'll wake up?" I asked turning to Carlisle. He gave me a sorrowful look. "Its too hard to tell Bella. His vitals are stable, his body is healing; There really isn't anything wrong that his genes can't fix."

"So…he may never…wake up," I said with a few cracks in my voice.

"Correct," Carlisle said softly. All of the air was knocked out of my lungs. Oh heavens.

"One step at a time okay?" Rosalie said catching my spinning thoughts. I nodded and let tears fall again.

"I want to go home," I said.

"Okay, we can take you back," Jake said getting up.

"No," I said catching his mistake, "I want to go home- to Charlie. I can't be-…I can't go there," I said thinking of Sam's place. I couldn't possibly be there without him. I would break down again- all over.

Jake nodded and the rest of the boys stood up.

"Thank you," I mumbled to Rosalie.

"I'll stop by later okay?" she said moving some hair away from my eyes. "You call me if you need me."

Nodding, I snuggled into Jake's chest as I let him carry me home, trying not to think that I was leaving Sam in the process.

* * *

><p>When Jake brought me in the house, Charlie was immediately on his feet, along with Billy moving to the front door.<p>

Touching me gently, Charlie kissed my forehead and commanded Jake to put me upstairs. When I was set on the cold bed, all I wanted to do again was curl up and cry. I wanted Sam. My Sam.

"I know," Jake said squeezing my arm. "Should I call Rosalie?" he asked hesitantly. I shook my head not wanting to be a bother to her. I had to get used to this. I had to cope with the fact I now only had half a heart. "I'll be right back," he said kissing my head. Jake was no doubt going down stairs to tell the men what had happened and why I was no longer whole.

I slipped into darkness; it was in the back of my head. My body felt numb and I was peaceful- in that lonely type of way. I didn't get up from the bed when the sun rose, and I never left it when it fell again. For days I was what the guys called catatonic. It made me feel somewhat closer to Sam in that way.

Rosalie finally stopped by a few days since I had been home. Alice had already come by to shower, change and feed me, while the rest of her family went hunting.

"You're not looking too good," she told me as she sat on the other side of the bed. I stayed there, laying down listening to her speak. "You can't do this to yourself Bella. This isn't right."

I sighed and continued to lie in my dead state.

"What would Sam think of this?" she wondered.

"He would be worried," I croaked out for the first time in days. "He would be here right with me, doing anything he could to help me."

Tears slipped down my face as it brought back memories to when I last saw him alive and well. "That day- we laid in bed together when I came home from shopping with Kim," I told Rose, "he thought something happened, he was worried."

A lump rose in my throat and I tried not to go in hysterics. Rose slipped into the bed, lying beside me as I talked. "We wrapped ourselves up in each other and stayed there for hours. I fell asleep in his arms as he tried to comfort me."

My sobs escaped my lips and I had a bit of a hard time to breath. "I couldn't figure it out. I didn't understand why I was so emotional. He kept wondering what happened to make me feel so glum, but I couldn't give him an answer."

I sniffled a bit, "he was hungry- he went to make us dinner. And then we saw her," my voice broke at the end. "He was so concerned about me when I should have been more concerned about him."

Rose held me as I sobbed again, comforting me in the best way she could. "Please don't blame yourself, none of this was your fault."

"She was trying to be me," I said frustrated. "She didn't mean to hurt him but her goal was to be me. He got hurt in the process. He was trying to be a hero,"

"He loves you," she countered. "He would do anything to keep you happy and safe. Taking out that vampire was something he needed to do. That's not trying to be a hero Bella, that's just being him."

"He was too distracted," I said sadly again, "he was so hesitant to leave me behind it got him hurt."

"You don't know that," she said.

"But I know him. I know how he thinks."

"Bella look," she sighed, "I'm not going to fight with you but you need to know, your Pack needs you. Without Sam, and now without you...they're lost."

"I don't know how I am supposed to function without him," I admitted.

"You take it day by day," Rose said kindly. "No one is expecting anything from you. They just want you around again."

"Wonder if I can't? I don't think I'm strong enough," I said.

"I don't believe that one bit," she said. "You've faced imprinting problems and you've walked into a house full of vampires. You honestly think that you aren't strong enough to wait for the day for your man to wake up?"

I blushed a bit and found she was right. It wasn't like he was dead. He was still breathing and he had a beating heart. It was just the fact he wasn't awake- that's what bothered me.

"Come on, up and at 'em," she said pulling me from the bed.

"Tomorrow?" I asked feeling unsecure.

"Bella," she sighed.

"Rose please. Just not today okay? The sun is going down and I just-…I need one last day."

"Alright," she said letting me go. "Are you okay from here?"

"Yea," I breathed. Sitting with me for a little while later, she left with a soft whish of the wind.


	13. Chapter 13

It was early, maybe around 5am when Paul entered my room. He stepped inside with heavy footsteps, knowing I was already awake.

"I messed up Bella," he said coming to sit down. Under his eyes were dark circles and he looked worn and tense.

"What happened?" I wondered. He seemed a bit surprised about my reaction. I hadn't talked to anyone for a while. Rose must not have told them about our deal. He looked at me with tear filled eyes.

Scooting closer, I pulled him down and made him lay beside me. I put my head on his shoulder and curled myself around his body, giving my Pack brother all the comfort he needed. Tears fell down his cheeks, which I found unusual. Paul was never the one to cry. He was always the strong and tough one- always wanting to deal with the problems on his own.

"What happened?" I asked again, drawing patterns on him.

"She's pregnant," he said with a shaky voice. I froze for a second. Who was pregnant? Paul didn't have an imprint- last time I checked.

"Who?" I wondered calming his shaking body down.

"Her name is 'Lissa," he said. "I- she-…we hooked up and…I don't know. It was a while ago. She- and…"

"Okay," I said softly, not needing the full explanation right now. All that mattered was he was upset.

"Did you tell your mom?" I wondered carefully as he calmed down some more. He nodded and hugged me tight. "She flipped out. And she has every right. I totally screwed up Bella. And Lissa just dumped it on me. I don't know what to do…and I had nowhere to go. My mom was so upset. I was so afraid she was going to turn back to the bottles."

"But she didn't right?" I asked putting my head up. He shook his head, "she said she needed to get out of the house for a while and talk with some other adults. I think she went to Sue's."

I nodded and laid my head back down.

"I couldn't stand being in the house. I just- I hate myself."

"You shouldn't," I said softly, "you created another life. You made something- **someone**," I clarified.

"Lissa wants nothing to do with the kid when she has him. She wants me to sign adoption forms to give him up."

"Are you going to?" I wondered, pausing again.

"I don't want to Bells. She's carrying my son. I have a son," he said proudly as his voice was thick with tears, "but I can't handle a child. I don't know where to begin. And my mom? She won't be able to handle that kind of stress. You should have seen the look in her eyes when I told her what Lissa said. I- I…"

"First off, I want you to take a breath," I said now scooting up and wiping away his tears. "We are going to get through this, one day at a time," I smiled, thinking of Rosalie.

"Your mom's a strong woman Paul. A kid is not the end of the world. She raised you right- even if you don't believe it. People make mistakes, even you. She's stressed out- yes, but that doesn't mean she loves you any less. She needs time. Even if it's just a little bit."

"What if she hates me?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"She's your mom," I said with kind eyes, "she could never hate you."

"What do I do Bells?" he asked, looking in my eyes. I gave him a reassuring smile. "You would make a good dad you know. I think you could do it."

"Not by myself," he said.

"Who said you would be alone?" I asked with a smile. "You have us- your family. We will be with you every step of the way."

"Its too much to ask- too much for you. I should have-"

"Stop," I said gently, pushing him to the bed. "Nothing is too much. You're going to have a kid in this world Paul, whether you like it or not. And you're a responsible guy. You'll do right."

"I want him Bells, I want to raise him."

"Then you will," I said confidently. "You and I- your mom and the rest of the guys **will**."

"You don't hate me? Think less of me?" he asked.

"You're Paul- The funny, smart ass, cocky son of a bitch who I love. Even though I don't admire your habits with woman, I know you don't abuse them, or push them. Its just your nature to be a womanizer- and flaunt what you got," I joked. "What happened with Lissa may seem like a mistake, but it made something great. Something that's another part of you."

I snuggled with him again. Ever since Sam, I needed the contact. "I would never think less of you. And I could never hate you. You're the one guy I can go to, to give it to me straight up- tell me what you think, what you feel; I like how that you don't hold back, no matter what happens or who the person is."

I smiled as I thought of that dance we shared at the club. He never held me or touched me like I was the property of Sam. He just did what he felt was natural.

"I'm scared," he admitted. "It's all just…happening so fast. And I just- what id I'm not good enough? Bells, my dad walked out on my mom and I. What if being a dad is harder than I think? My life is going to pass me by!"

"Again, breathe," I reminded. "Look," I said nodding to the window. The sun was starting to rise.

"Take in these little moments. Like right now. I know your antsy and scared, but just look. Look at the sun, watch it shine against the trees and look at how the wind makes everything move. It's a beautiful sight," I said. "There are so many beautiful things in this world- even the little things. And your son is going to be beautiful. Life will change for you and you'll adapt. He's going to be your world Paul. I know it. It's going to be okay."

"How do you know though?" he whispered after a while.

"I just do- I can see it, and feel it. I have so much faith in you. You're going to be great."

He sniffled a bit and hugged me for the longest time.

"Come on, lets get you something to eat," I smiled. He was surprised again as I offered to get out of bed. "Rose talked me through some things and I promised her today would be the day I changed. Sam isn't dead, I need to stop acting like he is and be grateful he's alive and breathing."

Paul smiled at me, which caused me to just feel silly. I hated when people stared especially at me. Grabbing his hands, I pulled him out of bed and made him follow me downstairs.

"Eggs, toast and fruit good?"

He nodded.

"After breakfast, I want you to talk with your mom," I said. "And do the guys know?"

He shook his head, "I haven't phased long enough to tell them."

"When did you find all of this out?" I wondered while cracking some eggs into a bowl.

"Last night, a little before dinner. I told my mom after we were done eating and she went to the Clearwater's. Then I had patrol by myself so it was easy to just stay there in my thoughts."

"Then you came here," I said. He nodded. We talked a bit more. Paul was not going to be alone in this. I promised myself that.

After cooking all the food, I set it in front of Paul and put the extras on the table.

"Bella," Bills said surprised. Both him and Jake were still at our house since Sam hadn't finished their house.

"Morning Uncle Billy," I smiled, leaning down to give him a hug.

"Morning Paul," Billy acknowledge rolling up to the table. I set him out a plate and continued to make some more food. My heart was healing a bit, I could feel it. Being around everyone made it better.

"How are you doing?" Uncle Billy wondered suspiciously.

"Good- better. Rosalie talked some sense into me yesterday. I think I might stop by and see Sam later."

He and Paul both gave me raised eyebrows.

"Hey daddy," I said a few minutes later. I could hear his footsteps in the hallway a ways a way before he even needed to acknowledge his presence.

"Bella," he said surprised. He came over and gave me a long, hard kiss to the temple and cheek. "Don't worry, I'm doing better," I murmured with a smile. I know I worried everyone, and that upset me a bit. I didn't mean to do such a thing.

"How long have you been up?" he asked.

"A while, but I just came down. Paul stopped by to visit so I thought I would make breakfast."

He continued to stare at me, mildly surprised.

"Jake," I said putting some bacon on the men's plate.

"Holy shit. Bells?" he asked rubbing his eyes. I walked over with a hot pan in my hand and gave him a kiss. "Sorry for scaring you."

"You're here…in the kitchen," he said still trying to pull it together.

"Wow, nice one captain obvious," Paul stated. I giggled a bit which caused everyone to look at me.

"And you're laughing," Jake said.

Paul rolled his eyes and gave me a wink. I think Paul's news was helping me move on too. What Rosalie said was right. The Pack needed me- especially Paul now. I couldn't be catatonic Bella. It wasn't fair to him, the guys, or Paul's unborn child.

"I am," I stated with a smile. Going back to the stove, I cooked a bit more for anyone else who would stop by.

"You're sure your okay?" Charlie asked as he came back down to go to work.

"Yea, I think so," I smiled. Giving him a kiss on the cheek, I watched him leave the house. When he was gone, I turned back to the men in the kitchen. "You need to go find your mom and talk to her," I told Paul. He looked slightly nervous but I easily calmed him down with a small squeeze to his shoulder. "It will be fine. Just go see her."

He nodded and got up. "Thanks Bells," he said hugging me.

"I'll be here if you need me."

Leaving my arms, he said goodbye to the Black's and left.

"What's with him?" Jake asked. I shook my head, "you'll find out later."

"Wait…you already know something? What did he tell you?" Jake wondered. I bit my lip. "He came by earlier this morning and was thinking of talking to catatonic Bella. What he didn't know was I was no longer…that. And as for what I know, you will get informed when he is ready."

"But you know," Jake said again.

"Yes," I said in a breath, "I know what is going on."

"Bella," Billy said ready to change the topic, "may I ask how you got out of your…predicament?" he asked.

I nodded; somewhat proud I was out of my scary state. "Rose helped me. She talked some sense into me. I'm not sure I can recite it word for word, but I know what hit me was that Sam isn't dead- and I've been selfishly acting like he is. I'm wasting my time, his, and the Pack's by sitting around moping. I don't want to do that. I don't want to let the days pass me by."

He nodded, somewhat impressed of the vampire too. When breakfast was done, I went to take a nice long hot shower. It was odd to actually feel the pellets of water. When Alice came by to help me clean up, it was like I felt nothing. Odd to be living again.

Stepping out of the bathroom, now fully clothed and dry, I was wrapped up into large warm arms. "Embry," I smiled knowing exactly who it was.

"It's unreal. When Jake said it I just…I missed you," he breathed while hugging me against his chest.

"I'm sorry for giving you such a worry," I said hugging him back.

"As long as you are okay- living, breathing _and_ talking, I can manage. I just- I really missed you."

Smiling, I continued to hug him in the hallway. Yea, I missed him too.

"Come on, there are other people downstairs waiting to see you too," he said tugging on my hand. I let out a little giggle and let him pull me.

"Bella!" Everyone shouted. Collin and Brady got to me first. I felt the guiltiest with them because I always promised to look out for them. Yet, I was being selfish. They each just gave me happy smile though, not seeing a problem with my past actions. Seth pulled me into a hug next, along with Leah on top of him. I let out more laughter. Soon after that, the imprints were hugging me and Quil pulled me in his arms. "Never do that again."

I nodded.

"So…we know," Jared stated while coming to hug me.

"About Paul," Kim said nicely.

"He told us a few minutes ago," Jake said. I raised an eyebrow at all of them. That was great, but where was Paul?

"He's still out talking with his mom," Leah said reading my face. I nodded.

"He showed us you two talking this morning," Seth said.

"I honestly can't wait to have a baby in this huge family," Sarah said kindly. I smiled at her.

"We support him, whole heartedly," Embry said hugging me again.

"Good," I spoke simply. We all chatted for a while till Paul came back in the house. He stood in the doorway, just stunned for a few seconds. All eyes were on him, waiting to see how he was again. Taking in his appearance I went over to hug him. It was good news- I could read it on his face.

"She's okay, she still loves me," he breathed while bending down to hug me, "She wants to help raise him," he sniffled while tucking his face in my shoulder. "It's going to be okay," he said pulling away happily. Tears in his eyes were at bay and I smiled.

"Thank you," he breathed, squeezing my hand.

"You have nothing to thank me for," I said with such happiness as I hugged him again. We all moved to the family room and had some bonding time. It was weird to be without Sam, but he was still in my heart and for now, I was okay with that.

My Pack was happy- just how Sam would want them to be- and that made me happy.

* * *

><p>Towards the middle of the afternoon, I made sure to take time to see Sam. I knew a lot of he guys were hesitant, but it was something I needed to do. Driving over to the Cullen's Edward came out and opened my door for me immediately.<p>

"Alice saw you coming," he smiled. I returned the gesture and let him lead me inside. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"Yea, I think so," I said, passing Alice and Rose with a smile on my way.

"Bella," Esme said coming to hug me as I reached the second floor.

"I can see your doing better Bella," Carlisle said coming to stand next to his wife.

"Thanks to Rose yea," I grinned. "is it okay if I see Sam?" I wondered. They nodded and each gave me encouraging smiles. "You're always welcome Bella," Esme said.

Thanking her, I opened my boyfriend's temporary bedroom door and let out a little breath. I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened the door but it hit me a bit. It made it harder to see that he was actually in coma than to think it.

"Hey baby," I said coming to sit next to him. I ran my fingertips over his face again. "I miss you so much."

Taking his hand, I kissed it softly. "You've barely been gone a month and so much has happened," I said.

"One of Paul's hook ups is pregnant," I said. "I'm sure you would be flipping right now. You would have that responsibility lecture with him," I laughed just picturing it. "But he's okay. He's going to make it. He's going to be a dad," I said. "Crazy huh? Paul being a dad?"

I sat there wishing for a response but my boyfriend's features were neutral.

"I love you so much," I whispered. Not knowing what else to say, I stood up, kissing his forehead and leaving the room. I shut the door letting out an unsteady breath trying to push my tears away.

"Thought you might want some company on you ride home," Collin said sitting against the wall next to the door. Brady was sitting next to him, smiling at me.

"Hey guys," I smiled opening my eyes as I pulled in my composure. "You didn't have to come."

"We wanted to," Brady said.

"Come on," I told the two. We went back downstairs and found the vampire clan.

"You're doing good," Rose said zooming up to hug me. Brady and Collin stiffened a bit but didn't react.

"Couldn't do it without you," I whispered as we pulled away.

"Come back anytime Bella," Carlisle said as I went to walk away.

'Thanks, I will," I smiled, leaving with my boys.

* * *

><p>Every week I went to visit Sam. With the Pack around there was always something happening. Paul just went to go see a sonogram of his baby and Embry had just imprinted.<p>

"Times moving fast," I told Sam. "I swear, Embry is love sick," I laughed, "The girl Andrea and him…you should see them," I laughed, "I thought Jared and Kim were bad. They are like…bunnies and magnets all at the same time," I joked. "They can't seem to stay away from each other."

I kissed Sam's hand, which laid in mine. "God baby, when are you going to wake up?" I wondered more to myself than anything.

* * *

><p>It had now been over 4 months since Sam had gone into coma and Paul told me he was going to be a father. Lissa was now 6 months pregnant and a very bitchy person. I had thought Emily was bad, well…Lissa, man I could tell why they didn't have an actual relationship.<p>

"I swear, if any of you women are like this, I am leaving the Pack," Paul groaned. I gave him a sympathetic smile. It was odd that Lissa wanted nothing to do with the baby, but Paul did and he catered to the mother's every need till his son was his. He had just came back from getting her watermelon, a bottle of chocolate syrup and pickles which she wanted from Port Angeles, and Port Angeles only.

"Well next up is Andrea and Embry, so I would be worried about your services with them," I joked. Embry and Andrea were always…busy. And from what I heard from everyone is that he did not have a filter in his head to stop from showing the performances of him and his imprint in the bedroom.

"Don't you two fucking dare," Paul growled at the pair.

"Woah Papa wolf," Leah said as she joined us in the family room. She settled on the couch next to me, ready to watch a movie.

"Popcorn?" I asked to Paul who was getting up to grab a beer. He let out a moan, which I think was supposed to be a growl. "Thank you," I called as he went to the kitchen. The rest of the boys (and their imprints) joined us a while later and we all had our scary movie night marathon.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I'm doing this," Paul said as we painted his spare room green. "This is really happening," he said.<p>

"Yes it is, now keep rolling," I teased while coating the white walls with a baby green color.

"A few more months," I smiled.

"And he's mine," Paul smirked.

"Did you think of a name?" I wondered.

"I have," Letty said coming in the room. I brightened at the sight of her. She was just as stunned and excited as Paul.

"Hey Letty," I said coming to hug her. She kissed my cheek and picked up a paintbrush.

"What about Kyle?" she asked the two of us. Paul made a face and I shrugged, it was okay.

"Mason?" she asked.

"Ehh," I said not really finding it fitting. Paul having a son Mason? What would his nickname be? Mace? I knew Jake would get a nice laugh out of that one. I could hear it now 'Mace? As in the spray?' and then he would crack himself up.

"What about William? Or Matthew?" I asked.

"I like those," Paul said painting the opposite wall. "William Matthew Lahote."

"What about Jeremy?" Letty said. "William Matthew Jeremy Lahote."

"Woah, my kid isn't going to have like 10 names," Paul said. I let out a giggle as she rolled her eyes. "Fine, well you have to decide soon."

He nodded. As we finished painting, Jake, Jared, and Collin came over to help us set up some furniture.

"So how long you got again bro?" Jared wondered.

"A month," Paul said.

"Shoot dude," Jake said.

"Did you pick a name?" Collin wondered. I gave him a smile as Paul rolled his eyes.

"Well its not like we can call the kid squirt for ever," Collin said.

"Or Paul Jr.," Jared laughed.

"…PJ," Jake said cracking up. "Its like PB & J but with no B so its like PJ…" Everyone stared at him weirdly and he rolled his eyes, grumping about how it was a good joke.

"Well, how's it look," I said in charge of decorating the walls. He wanted something there, so I put up some picture frames. I did some of the Pack, Letty, Paul, and even one of Lissa. I wasn't sure if Paul wanted his future son to know about his mom, but the kid did have a right to know.

"It looks perfect," he said smiling at me. "Thank you."

I stared at Paul, knowing it wasn't just a thank you for the décor. It was a thank you for everything. For every step of the way I had been there. Paul had cracked numerous times, telling everyone he couldn't do it. His doubts had been laid out and he was dead set on failure.

It was odd that I could always be the one to get through to him, but I guess it was because he had so much trust in me, just like I felt with Rosalie. Numerous times when I went to see Sam I broke down, and she was always there to help me back up, reassuring me I could do anything.

"Of course," I said with a smile. I helped Collin out with putting a bookshelf together while Jared worked on the crib.

"How the heck does this work?" Jake asked picking up the baby monitor. "Hello? Hello?" he asked in one of them while listening to the other. I laughed as Paul grabbed them and shut them off.

"Idiot," Paul muttered to Jake. Paul had been reading up on every single baby book he could get his hands on. Sometimes he even made me go with him so he didn't look funny buying practically the whole store.

I hung up some of the small baby clothes on the hangers in the closet. It was funny to see such miniature things. Jared making sure the crib was sturdy while Jake set some books in the newly put together bookshelf. Collin was hanging up the mobile while Paul was staring at us all with a smile. Going over to hug him, I glanced at everyone. Team effort.

Giving me a soft squeeze, Paul glanced down at me with a warm smile. He had changed quite a lot. He was no longer out and about with other girls and he was always attentive to Lissa. He had buckled down on his work and made sure to start funds for his kid. I hugged him and laid my head against his side. Paul was a great guy, and I was happy to witness such a change in him. He was like my brother and close friend. "To the diner?" I announced.

"To the diner," Everyone smiled. Paul was the last one to walk out of his son's room, grinning as he shut the door.

* * *

><p>The day finally arrived. I was in the bedroom talking to Sam when Edward came in with the phone. It was Paul.<p>

"Bella? Oh my god, I cant do this. She went into labor. And I- oh my god. I think I'm going to pass out. I'm going to be one of those guys on TV. I can't do this. I was a fool to think I could be a dad. And I-"

"Okay, slow down," I said now fully in charge. "Where are you? Forks hospital?"

"Yea," he breathed.

"I'll be right there. Don't go passing out on me now," I said.

Hanging up with him I immediately dialed Carlisle's number.

"Bella?" he asked concerned.

"Hey Carlisle, everything is okay, don't worry. But Paul's girlfriend just went into labor and he is freaking out. I was hoping if you had a chance you could go up to the baby unit and calm him down? I will be there as soon as I can."

"Of course," he said. "I'll see you in the maternity ward," he said smoothly and then hung up.

"Baby time?" Edward asked.

"Yea," I breathed. Glancing at Sam, I kissed his head and smiled. "Show time."

"Want me to drive?" Edward asked. I nodded. Rushing down stairs we alerted everyone.

"Baby time!" I yelled throughout the house. I of course didn't really have to yell since they had the hearing thing but it was natural.

"Really?" Alice said excitedly speeding over to us.

"Yea, lets go," I smiled. The Cullens have actually become really close with the Pack too. They were especially excited when they found out Paul was going to have a kid. Rose was even more happy to hear such a thing. She shared her past with all of us and it really made a difference on how we saw her. Paul wasn't always sure of her, but he took into huge consideration that she helped me out of my funk and put me on track. That, he said, he was forever grateful for. Edward helped me in his car and we all set off to the hospital. I raced into the building, demanding the room number. Alice and Jasper had already called the Pack for me on the way.

"Thanks!" I said to the receptionist as I ran off. When I got up to the maternity ward Paul was pacing in front of a room. I was guessing Lissa was in there.

"What are you doing out here? You should be with your future son!" I scolded.

"I'm supposed to be getting ice chips. Ice chips…" he said repeating himself. I stopped him by the shoulders and made him look at me.

"Ice chips," he said again. Not sure what to do, I lightly smacked him across the face.

"What the hell," he said moving a hand to his face.

"Well it worked," I stated while the vampires behind me chuckled.

"Now, here are your ice chips," I said taking them from Carlisle's hand as I said hello. "Now go back in there and wait for your son to make an appearance."

"Right," he said.

"It's going to be great," I told him. "I promise."

Giving him a hug and a kiss, I shoved him inside and closed the door behind him.

"Did you just smack Paul?" Leah asked coming near us with Cole in tow.

"Yea, I did," I giggled.

It took 4 hours and 56 minutes of waiting till we saw Paul come out with a little bundle of joy in his hands. We were all shocked and in awe at how small the kid looked in his arms. He was perfect.

"Meet William Matthew Lahote. Son, this is everyone," he said with a coo. My eyes teared up and my heart ached to be with Sam. I wished he were here, holding me close. I wished he was marveling the little bundle in his Pack brother's arms with me. I even wished we had a child or had a family of our own.

"Bella, I would like you to meet your godson," Paul smiled.

"Wh-hat?" I asked getting back to the present.

"If you accept, I would like you to be Will's godmother," he said looking up from his son to me.

"Me?" I asked making sure he had the right name,

"You," he laughed. I nodded tears running down my cheeks. He smiled and kissed my head. Handing over his son carefully, I curled my arms around the tiny baby body.

"Hey little man. I'm your godmother and Aunt Bella. I'm going to spoil you rotten, I hope you know," I laughed with tears in my voice.

"Not if I get to him first Bella," Alice cooed with a pep in her voice. Paul chuckled, even accepting them in his son's life.

"How's Lissa?" Carlisle asked.

"Good, glad to be done with labor," he said with a sigh.

"Did she want to see him?" Rose wondered.

"Nope, not even for a second," he said sadly. Rosalie looked angered for a bit, but Emmett just shifted her attention to William.

"He's perfect," I said softly.

"He is," Paul smiled.

**_A/N: So I went ahead and pretty much finished the story which means more (frequent) updates for my readers! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I was wondering though what you guys would like to see in the end. Was there something you wanted out of this story? Predict it or request it, just let me know! Also, I know I time skipped quite a bit, which I am sooo sorry for, I just wasn't really sure on how to go about everything. Please review to tell me how I'm doing- it would mean a lot. Thanks!_ **


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N: Thank you all so much for the awesome reviews! Please keep 'em coming! I love to read everything you guys have to say. But now, as promised, a fast update! =)**_

William Matthew Lahote was now 8 months old. Time was passing by too quickly, especially with Sam still in coma. There were so many things he was missing out on; so many things I was wishing he was here for.

"Hello, hello," I smiled, kissing everyone on the cheek as I met them at the diner.

"Hey Bells," Collin and Brady smiled as I hugged them.

"And hello to you little man," I said giving the boy a tickle.

"Auntie Elley," he giggled. I had a special nickname with him too. Since he could talk he called me Auntie Elley. I wasn't sure if he got the 'Elley' from Bella, Isabella, when he heard Claire call me Isabelley or if he made it up on his own.

"Paul," I said kissing his cheek. He gave me a hello, feeding his son baby food and some cut up pancakes. It was funny. Paul feeding someone, and the fact that he used this funny little voice when tried to stuff the mushed up nastiness in the kid's mouth.

"So, what have I missed?" I asked sitting next to Jake.

"Billy's house is finished," Jared said eating some bacon.

"I know, the Black's moved out today," I said with a grin to Jake. "I was out helping your dad. He loves the house by the way," I told him.

"I can't wait to see it. I haven't had time with patrols and all," Jake said. He hugged Sarah's hand and I grinned at the two.

"So then you're moving in?" I asked the imprint.

"I am," she smiled happily. I laughed, still grinning. Billy wasn't the happiest about the news, but Jake was happy and he had his house back- that was all he could ask for.

"And you two?" I asked Jared and Kim.

"Satisfied to have my boyfriend back all to myself," Kim smiled. Since Sam had gone, Jared had stepped up as temporary Alpha, since he was Beta at the time and all, so he finished up Billy's house for him.

"How's Claire?" I wondered to Quil.

"Awesome. She's getting older. I have stepped up from brother and caretaker to friend and somewhat of a crush," he grinned. I let out a laugh. He was too much.

"Andrea? How are you and Embry?"

"Really good," she blushed. "I'm moving in with him."

I let out a cough and looked at the two surprised. Well that was fast, "Wow, congrats. That's awesome."

"Thank you," she smiled as he kissed her.

"Seth? Leah? Anything I missed with you two?"

"I…got a job?" Seth said not finding his news to be quite as exciting.

"Yea," I chuckled, "by me."

"Yea yea," he grumbled with a small laugh, "I live a boring life."

I had opened a small music shop in Port Angeles, where I set up a small recording studio, some practice space, and even a room for lessons. I hired Seth to help me out around the place, making sure to pay well.

"Nothing is really new with me. Cole and I are great. No complaints," Leah commented.

"Think it's going anywhere?" Seth asked his sister.

"I don't know. The boy is fickled," she huffed. I smiled.

"Collin? Brady?" I wondered, now eating my food, which had been served in front of me.

"We were hoping you would hire us too," they smiled sweetly.

"Oh really?' I laughed, surprised that they wanted a job. The two nodded, "Please Bella? We need to get paid."

"And laid," Brady said.

I let out a surprised laugh and Paul growled, saying something about his son being here.

"Fine okay yea. Seth can go over everything with you tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," they said relieved. After breakfast was done, it was back to work. I was getting ready to travel in a few days, now to Los Angeles. Not only was I still unpacked and unready to go, but I hadn't seen Sam in a while and felt like I should stop by.

Getting in the car, my phone rang and I easily answered it.

"Hey Emmett," I smiled.

"Just wanted to call my Bella Bean before she goes off to the big world and becomes a star,"

"Oh Emmett," I laughed, "Didn't you know? I'm already one."

He boomed with laughter at my great attempt for a joke. "Bella Bean, that was actually a good one."

"Thanks," I laughed.

"So off to see Sam?" He wondered.

"Yea, for a quick second. Alice can still see my future?" I wondered a bit crestfallen.

"Yea Bells, sorry."

"Nah, it's okay," I said sucking it up. "Tell everyone I said hello okay?"

"Will do. Hey how's William? Rose is going to send another care package."

I let out a laugh. The Cullens moved away again so no one else would turn wolf. Everyone wanted the line to stop at Collin and Brady. They were so young, it didn't seem right. Of course, the Cullens had no problem with it, except for the fact they were leaving Paul's little boy behind. But they definitely made up for it by sending clothes, food, toys, and everything else.

"He's good. Growing up fast. I think Letty is going to be pulling together a birthday party for Liam's first birthday," I said smiling at the nickname I had for him. The kid had such a great name that there were so many things I could call him. "So I'm hoping to see you then?"

"For sure," Emmett's voice boomed.

"Alright, well I've arrived at your house, I'll talk to you later Em,"

"Bye Bella Bean!" he chirped and then hung up. I got out of my car and headed up the house, knowing Sam would be there. At first, I was really worried about the Cullen's moving away and Sam being left on his own, but the machines had timers and Sue took it upon herself to be his nurse, stopping by every so often to keep him company and help make things run smoothly.

"Hey you," I said stepping in the room. I sat on the bed and kissed his hand. "So I leave for LA tonight. I'm going to miss you."

I bit my lip, " I know how much you hated that I traveled but…I think my job really needs it right now. And you're here…" I said with my voice faltering. "It will be good for us. That way when you wake up, all of my travels will be out of the way and we wont have to worry about it anymore."

I wiped away a tear. The longest I have ever been away from him since he slipped in coma has been a week and a half. I was to be in LA for over a month, if not more.

"Oh and here's something to swallow. Embry and Andrea are moving in together. Quick right? Yea, I bet you would be having a heart attack at that one," I joked. My phone beeped. It was a text from Leah telling me she was hoped I was packed. Sighing, I shut my phone and looked to my man. I knew I told her to keep me on track and all, especially because she was driving me to the airport, but still.

"I gotta go baby," I said sadly. Getting up, I leaned over and kissed his forehead. "I'll miss you."

With that, I wiped a tear and was on my way.

* * *

><p>Life was unbelievably crazy. I was now in LA for who knows how long. I had met with so many artists who were such great people; I could see why everyone wanted me in LA. I had attended numerous award shows were absolutely amazing. They stunned me every time. But now, I was coming back home- temporarily unfortunately. It was Liam's first birthday party. I couldn't miss that.<p>

Grabbing my huge gift for him, which consisted of a blow up ball pit, I made my way back to Charlie's house.

"Hey dad," I smiled coming in to hug him.

"Great to see you Bells," he said kissing my head.

"Collin! Brady!" I said as the walked out of the kitchen.

"You're home," They said happily. After giving them each a big hug, I moved to put my things away.

"So what have I missed?" I asked the two as they followed me upstairs.

"Liam's one," Brady said.

"Wow," Collin replied with an eye roll. I laughed. After they filled me with in the rest of the gossip, we went down to grab Charlie and head to the party.

* * *

><p>"Liam!" I said happily, kneeling down with my arms wide as the little boy came running. "Oh I missed you."<p>

"Auntie Elley," he said hugging me. When he pulled away, he played with my long hair, kissing my cheek.

"Oh, you're a keeper," I joked, ticking his little tummy.

Picking him up, I found Paul hovering over us.

"Hey," I smiled, enjoying the feel of his embrace again.

"Missed you Bells," he said kissing my head.

"Missed you too."

"How long you here for?" Jake asked coming to hug me next.

"A day- two at max," I told them sadly.

"Have you seen Sam yet?" Leah asked coming to say hi.

"No not yet," I said bummed. "How is he? Any change?"

The shook their head.

"Hey Em," I smiled, hugging my friend.

"Missed you," he said kissing my cheek. I said hi to Andrea and told him how much I missed him too.

The party flew by. The Cullens unfortunately couldn't make it since they had just flown out to Italy but everything was still a hit. I talked to pretty much everyone. Billy was still enjoying his house immensely. His lovebird couple were interesting guests, but again, his son was happy so, so was he. Sue was still checking up on Sam. There was no difference but he was doing well. Everything was healed and she made sure to be there for him in case anything changed. Letty was enjoying her grandson. I guess Lissa never stopped by, wrote, or had anything to do with him after she left the hospital. And everyone else was in his or her own little world.

As I found time to myself a bit, I really wished I was here to enjoy the lives of my family. I had been gone for what felt like so long that I was out of the loop on everything.

"You're welcome to sneak out and see Sam," Paul said with a beer in hand.

"I'm okay," I said smiling at him, "I will stop by later tonight."

"Will is just opening his presents, it's not that big of a deal and I'm sure you will be back before the kid could even notice."

"Miss my godson opening presence? Oh no, you must be mistaking me for someone else, because I don't miss big events like that."

Paul chuckled and kissed my head, "don't know what I would do without you."

"Freak out," I mumbled. He chuckled but agreed to that. I remember one day William had woken up with a fever and Paul literally flipped. No one could calm him down and Letty wanted to take him to the hospital. I was already gone in LA so he didn't have me…well he thought he didn't have me. As soon as I heard I flew back here. He attacked me with a bear hug and we solved his son's problem with baby Tylenol.

"You sure you don't want to make a quick escape?" he asked again.

"I'm sure," I smiled, kissing his cheek as I went over to my nephew.

Liam got so many new toys and cool things it was unbelievable. A new tricycle, a few new trucks and cars, some action figures, and even a new sleeping bag. When he got to my ball pit, I think he almost had a heart attack- and well, so did Paul. Inside of my card, I had set up a fund of my own for Liam, a college fund to be exact, already consisting of over $100,000.

"I can't believe you," he said after all the gifts were opened. The guys were helping Liam set up all of his new things.

"I make a lot of money. Might as well go towards something good," I said with a shrug.

"You're amazing you know that?" Paul questioned a bit teary eyed. I laughed and hugged him tight. "I'm not really, I just…I have a heart. And that kid…he's almost everything- to you and me both."

"I wish you were staying longer," he said.

"I wish I was too. But I'll be home soon. A few more weeks."

"More like months," he scoffed knowing the reality.

"Yea, maybe," I sighed.

"Just make sure you take care of yourself okay?" he asked me, full of emotion I rarely ever saw.

"Always," I smiled, kissing his cheek before wandering off.

* * *

><p>It was around 7pm when I got the time to go see Sam. It felt so odd to actually to step back in the house and say my hello. My heart fluttered when I saw him again. I guess I never realized how much I missed him.<p>

"Sam," I breathed coming to sit by him. Taking my hand in his, I smiled down at him. "I missed you so much. And I'm so sorry I have to leave again."

There was nothing but silence.

"LA is great, it really is, but I'm missing out on so much here. Liam is getting so big and the boys are all growing too. You would be so proud of them Sam. They are amazing."

I sniffled a bit.

"I just wish you woke up. I miss hearing your voice and seeing you smile. I miss those eyes," I said bringing my hand up to his face. Pushing off my shoes, I curled up beside him and laid there. I ran my hands over his chest, the side of his face and hugged his arm. Oh how I wish he would wake up.

* * *

><p>I left two days later. It was hard to leave, but I did get to spend the day with Liam. He was a really great kid. So smart and had quirks like his father. It was amazing to see a little kid so perfect.<p>

Back in LA, things were booming. Life was in the fast lane. From song to song and artist to artist, it was almost too fast. I called Pete when I arrived in my hotel for the night around 2am. I could tell I woke him up and I would have felt bad if I wasn't so beat.

"Pete, I can't do this. It's exhausting."

"What are you talking about Bella?" He groaned.

"I'm leaving LA, end of the week no buts. As my agent you get to deal with the rest, I can't do it anymore."

"What about all of your songs? The celebrities you were going to meet?"

"I really don't care anymore," I said exhausted. "Bella," he said ready to change my mind.

"No, I did the traveling thing- twice. I'm done Pete, really. The two ams and the late nights…I miss my family, my home. It's time for me to leave."

"Alright," he sighed, "I can get it figured out. Are you sure though?"

"Positive," I said before hanging up the phone. I crashed a few minutes later, falling asleep without even changing.

* * *

><p>I stuck to my word. By that end of the week I took a flight home with all of my bags. Charlie picked me up from the airport and took me home.<p>

"So no more LA?" my dad questioned as he brought in my luggage.

"No more LA, no more traveling, no more being gone," I said tiredly.

"Good," he said kissing my head, "missed you Bells."

"Missed you too daddy," I said snuggling into him.

* * *

><p>The Pack was ecstatic to have me back. Since I wasn't so focused on traveling anymore, I got to spend a lot of time at my music studio in Port Angeles. Collin and Brady were each a big help, and Seth was really great to have around; he ran the place like a pro.<p>

"Alright, I have Liam tomorrow so I wont be able to stop by. Are we all good here though?" I asked around 11pm as we were closing up.

"Yea, I think so. We have a few scheduled lessons tomorrow but they are the usuals and Collin and Brady are going to help do inventory tomorrow," Seth said looking around the place. "There shouldn't be any reason we need you to swing by," he told me.

"Awesome," I smiled grabbing my jacket and shutting off the lights. "Lets go eat."

Seth and I grabbed a quick bite to eat at his mom's diner. From there, he walked me to my car and made sure I got home safe. I was beyond excited to see Liam tomorrow. Paul was on double patrols since he cussed out the babysitter when she reported that William doesn't listen and isn't a good kid. We were all mad that she would say something like that but Paul was the worst. He ripped the girl a new one and Jared put him on double patrols for the week. It wasn't the best behavior to set for his son.

Slipping under my sheets, I turned off my lamp and waited for the day to come.

* * *

><p>I was woken up to jumping on my bed. Groaning, I rolled over and found it was Liam in his dinosaur PJ's. He was giggling and saying good morning to me. Paul was just coming up the stairs to see us when I grabbed the little boy.<p>

"What are you doing?" I said catching his bouncing body and snuggling him to me. I didn't want him to get in trouble with his daddy. As much as I loved Paul, I hated when Liam would get in trouble or yelled at. It always made me feel sad.

"Hi," he giggled. Kissing my cheek, he moved some hair out of my face and stared at me.

"Morning," Paul said coming to sit on the bed.

"Hey," I said rolling over a bit to see him. "Patrol time?"

"I have a few minutes," he said. I giggled. "Pushing it to the limit huh?"

"All the time," Paul grinned.

"Can we make some pancakes?" Liam asked me.

"For…lunch?" I asked looking at the clock. It was around 11am.

"Yea," he smiled with that little mouth of his.

"Of course," I said giving him an Eskimo kiss. He giggled and then snuggled in my body.

"Thanks for doing this Bells. My mom is busy with who knows what and me being me…I shouldn't have yelled at the babysitter."

"That was funny," Liam said. I held back a giggle, especially when Paul scolded himself. "It wasn't meant to be funny. She wasn't very happy with your attitude mister," he said.

"Alright," I commented, as Liam looked upset. Turning back to Paul I smiled.

"Yes, you shouldn't have yelled at the young girl, but I have to say, she could have phrased her words better. And I don't mind watching Liam. I love him," I said ticking the little kid. He squirmed and made this laugh that came straight from his tummy.

"Come on, time to get up," I said patting the small kid. He got up from bed, still jumpy.

"I'm going to go brush my teeth and change. Give your daddy a kiss and a hug goodbye. I'm sure we will see him in a few hours," I commanded. Liam nodded and jumped in Paul's arms as I left the room. When I was done upstairs, I trotted down to meet my little boy and brother.

"Go, you're now late," I said to Paul. Sighing, he gave us each a kiss and left.

Liam and I cooked a huge stack of pancakes for all of the guys that would be sure to stop by. We set out a bowl of fruit, syrup and even a big stack of toast.

"Dig in," I told the boy as I stood at the stove to finish our last batch of blueberry waffles. Setting those on the table too, I helped Liam cut his food.

"Hey Auntie Elley?" he asked.

"Yea bud?"

"This week is mommy's day," he said.

"It is," I said biting my lip. Where was this going?

"Why don't I have a mommy?"

My heart crumbled at his words and I dropped the silverware. Turing to the kid, I brought his face up to look at mine.

"A lot of people don't have mommy's. Sometimes…things happen," I explained. I was honestly unsure how to go about this. Paul and I talked about it a lot- wondering if we should really bring Lissa into William's life. It was a hard call but Paul said no. He could know of her, but he didn't want him to know she didn't want him- that was beyond hurtful.

I hugged his hands in mine, "sometimes mommy's leave. They don't stick around. But…it's okay to…have another mommy. A mom doesn't have to be by blood. It can be like your best friend or a person you look up to."

"So it can be you?" he asked me. My eyes went wide and my heart completely melted. Me?

"Ye-a, I guess if you think of me that way, I could be."

"I like that," he said.

"Daddy didn't really like mommy," he said. "But I like you."

"I like you too buddy," I smiled.

"So can I call you mommy?" he wondered, cocking his head to the side.

"If you want."

His eyes brightened and I kissed his forehead, commanding him gently to eat up.

The door opened a while later and Seth came in. "Seth?" I wondered confused. He was supposed to be at work.

"Just stopping by for some of your marvelous breakfast. Collin and Brady are still at the studio. We don't have lessons till later," he said coming to kiss my cheek.

"Mmm," I said in understanding.

"Matty!" he said opening his arms for the kid. Like I said before, William Matthew Lahote had many nicknames.

"Seth!" Liam shouted back with a giggle.

"Set down the fork!" I commanded as Liam stood up on the chair. Seth grabbed the utensil out of his hand and put it on the table before swinging him around.

"I'll make a plate for Collin and Brady. Make sure they actually get it please?" I teased to Seth as I went over to the food. The two boys laughed and Seth nodded. Last time, I sent a package of food over to the studio with the Clearwater and he ate it all before it could make it to Port Angeles. Needless to say, half of the Pack was wondering why they didn't get food while the twins, Collin and Brady, were just wondering why they didn't get their food. Sometimes a connected mind always wasn't the greatest.

"So how long you here for kid?" Seth asked Liam.

"Daddy comes back around dinner time and then he has to go back out again."

"He sleeping over?" Seth wondered to me.

"No. I told Paul he could but he said it was okay. He's off around 9:30 tonight anyways."

Seth nodded and ruffled the kid's hair some more.

"Here," I told the male Clearwater. "Don't eat it in the car, it's for your Pack brothers."

"Yes ma'am," he said jokingly. I shook my head at him and kissed his cheek.

"Bye Matty," He said kissing the kid.

"Bye Seth!" Liam cheered. Seth grabbed a few quick bites of food, knowing I set his own plate for him on top of Collin and Brady's food.

Everyone came in and out of the house today. Charlie stopped home on his break since he knew I was watching Paul's kid, and even Billy stopped by to keep us company a bit before going to see Sue at the diner.

It was around 4:30 when Liam and I returned into the kitchen. The guys would be back in an hour after patrols and dinner would be served soon after that.

"Here, add some of that," I said referring to the chopped up basil. We were making homemade spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, and salad.

Stirring the big pot some more, we watched as everything mixed together in the big concoction of tomato sauce. The sound of the front door opening caught my attention as Liam sprinkled in some more basil.

"Paul?" I wondered. It was only 4:30. Was he back early? Shutting off the stove, I picked Liam off the chair he was standing on to help me cook and set him on the ground. Wiping off my hands, I went to look to see who had just entered.

When I saw who was standing in front of me, I completely froze.

"Sam?"

_**A/N: How was it? Did you guys see it coming**_?


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N: Didn't get too many reviews on Ch. 14 =(  
>Thanks to all readers who did though! This is for you!<br>**_

I had to be dreaming. My visions of him finally waking up were always on my mind. I could think of numerous scenarios where I pictured him alive and with me. But now? This was…unreal.

I stood there flabbergasted. It was Sam. He was standing there looking at me, not quite sure what to do. His shirt was off, of course, and he was in those same cut offs from when he first left me. Was this real?

"Mommy?" Liam asked hesitantly. He stood behind my legs and held me tight.

"Li-iam," I breathed out hugging me to him. My eyes couldn't be taken away from Sam. If they did, I was afraid he would disappear. Gazing into his eyes, I saw those same dark chocolate orbs. They were a bit glazed but connected with mine nonetheless.

The door opened again and called for me.

"Hey Bells? Will!" Embry called. Turning to go into the kitchen, he saw the back of a figure, me shell-shocked, and Liam hiding behind my legs.

"Hey who…? Holy Shit!" Embry cussed finding the man to be Sam. He stared at his alpha wide eyed.

"Sam?"

My heart rate increased. Even his name brought me shivers.

"Embry…get the Pack," I spoke shakily.

"I- yea, sure. Be right back," he said rushing out the door.

"Bella," Sam spoke. That simple word had me ready to faint. He was here. Really here.

Liam pulled on my shirt and I broke my stare away from Sam. "Its okay," I told the kid. Running my hand through his hair, I tried to calm both our anxiety. He seemed nervous, not knowing whom the man was and was protective of me.

There was a howl in the air and I knew it was Embry calling everyone here. My eyes went back up to the dark figure. They couldn't leave Sam.

"Will, come here bud," Embry said coming back in the house. Liam seemed hesitant to leave me, but with a pat to his back, he took off running for Embry.

"We'll be in the living room," he said picking up the boy and watching us barely interact. After taking a few deep breaths and blinking numerous times, Sam still didn't vanish and I knew he was real. Launching myself in his arms, I breathed in his scent and let my body melt. His arms came around me. They held me tight and his heat burned me. It felt so good.

"You're here," I croaked out with my legs wrapped around his waist.

"I'm here baby," he said in that deep gruff voice I loved while holding me tight. I sniffled a bit as I buried my head in his neck. I could have died waiting for this day. It was something I had been looking to for such a long time.

The Pack came rushing in through the door, and as Sam turned us a bit, they all gasped.

"Fuck me." Quil spoke in shock.

"No way," Jake said staring at Sam.

"Holy shit," Leah announced.

"I'm dreaming," Jared decided

"Hell…" Seth breathed.

"What the-" Paul shut his lips, stopping himself before letting out a strain of cuss words. They all stared at Sam, finding the sight to be unreal too. But Sam didnt pay much attention to them. He just continued to hug me and run his hands over my body.

"Damn," Collin and Brady both breathed, as they were the last to arrive.

"Guys," Leah said calling over the Pack to join Embry in the living room. I respected the time and space they were trying to give Sam and I.

Sniffing my tears back after all of the guys left the room; I pulled back and looked into Sam's face. My hands ran over his face, down his shoulders and glanced at his arms. There was not a part of him that I could reach that I didn't graze over. His chest was moving up and down, showing he was breathing, I could feel his heart beat against me, and his eyes were open.

Letting out a breath of astonishment, my eyes met his and we leaned in for a hard lustful kiss. His lips were everything against mine. Tears rolled down my cheeks some more but I didn't care. Sam's mouth was on mine. My heart was full and complete.

"I missed you," I spoke as we pulled away panting.

"Missed you too baby, so much," he said bringing his forehead to mine. My body was still in shock. It felt like a dream. My head couldn't wrap around that he was awake and here in Charlie's house. Taking in some more deep breaths, I let my legs unravel and I slid down from him. Bringing my hands up again, I lightly touched his face. It was just unbelievable.

"Why don't…umm…you go join the guys okay?" I said getting my head together, "I am going to call Sue."

He nodded, still watching me. His eyes said so much. There was wonder, lust, love, and curiosity. Smiling at the sight of him again, I hugged myself close to him and slid my hand around the back of his neck. He was still here. Setting our foreheads against each other, I just enjoyed the moment. He was really here.

"Okay," I breathed trying to get my fix of my newly woken up boyfriend. Opening my eyes, I let out a teary laugh. He just stared at me with so much love and compassion.

"I love you," he said with simplicity.

"I love you too," I mumbled as his lips crashed against mine again. Trying not to get too carried away since we still had company, I pulled away and smiled. Moving out of his arms, I started to drift away. Our hands were still entwined though, not sure if they were ready to go. I was just leaving his grasp when my heart clenched all over again and Sam had me reeling back to him.

"Can't let you go just yet," he said in that husky voice. He took a deep whiff of my scent.

"Good," I breathed with relief. I was afraid to leave him from my sight. Laying my head on his chest, we stood there together in each other's arms.

"I'm really here," he said trying to reassure me. I smiled against him as he ran a hand up and down my back. With a few more touches, I tried to pull myself away from him but it was just too hard. So he came further into the kitchen with me so I could call Sue.

She picked up on the second ring and I couldn't help but smile as Sam hugged me from behind. He kissed the side of my face and played with my long hair.

"Sue's Diner," the woman said with a cheery voice.

"Hey Sue," I smiled.

"Bella! What can I do for you?" she wondered.

"Are you sitting down?" I wondered lightly.

"No, why? Should I be? Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Just…sit down," I warned her with a small laugh. She huffed and then spoke again, "alright, let me have it. Are Seth and Leah all right? Did something happen with Will? Is he okay? What about Paul? And the rest of the boys?" she wondered.

"Sue…Sam woke up," I said with a small emotional chuckle. My boyfriend brought his lips to my temple for just a bit longer and squeezed me tight. Glancing up, I smiled at the man and snuggled in his chest. Arms wrapped around me and I swear I had melted in place. Just that little gesture had such an effect on me.

"How?-….when? Is he alright? What happened? How- and-" she was forming random and somewhat incoherent sentences.

"I'm not sure how yet, or really anything," I said with a laugh. "But he's here," I sniffled. Sam brushed my tears away and touched our foreheads together.

"Oh Bella, this is wonderful."

"I'm sure you will inform everyone?" I joked.

"Of course, already on it. You two just get reacquainted with each other. I know there is so much to catch up on. We'll talk later yes?"

"Absolutely," I smiled over the phone, "bye Sue."

"Bye Bella, tell Sam I said hello, even though I'm sure he can hear me."

Sam chuckled and nodded, "Yea, he can, and he says hello too. Thanks again Sue. Bye."

Hanging up the phone, I let out a breath and tried to pull it together. It was like my brain and my heart were on a track of their own.

"You okay?" Sam wondered to me softly.

"I should be asking you that," I said tearing up again as I turned back to face him. Damn emotions.

"I'm perfect baby," he said kissing me again. Sparks shot through my body and I melted against him.

"You ever do this to me again Sam Uley…" I said, my voice full of emotion as I started an empty threat.

"Never baby. Never ever again," he said cupping my face in his hands. "Never," he said staring straight into my eyes.

Nodding, I let my tears fall and my heart to crumble from exhaustion. I had tried to be strong for so long after Rose talked to me. It was so tiring and now that he was here, it was like a huge gap had been filled in my heart, soul, and life.

"Why is Mommy crying?" Will asked Paul.

"Mommy?" Paul said stunned to silence.

"Auntie Elley daddy. Why is she crying?" Will asked panicked. No one could understand his ball of emotions. Sniffling a bit I wiped my tears and took Sam's hand from my face to lead him to his Pack.

"I'm okay little man," I said coming to kneel down and catch him in my arms. Liam snuggled in my shoulder and comforted me.

"I'm so happy," I said hugging his small frame tightly.

"People don't cry when they are happy," he mumbled with his face smooched against my shoulder.

"I do, cause I'm **extremely** happy. Happier than you at the candy store," I said poking his side. He let out a giggle and I grinned.

"Auntie Elley, that's really happy," he stated while pulling away to look at me.

"Yea, it is," I said with light eyes. Kissing his nose, I ruffled his hair.

"Liam, this is Sam. Sam, this is William Matthew Lahote."

Sam crouched down to the kid and then stared up at me in confusion. Lahote?

"Yea Sam, I got myself a kid," Paul said impressed.

"**Have** a kid daddy," Liam corrected. I let out a small chuckle along with the rest of the Pack. I had taught him pretty nice grammar.

"Well…its nice to meet you," the alpha said sticking out his hand. Matty grabbed it and shook it firmly. "You too."

"Bella…did my son call you mommy?" Paul asked.

"Yea, about that, we should talk," I told the man. Smiling down at Liam, I whispered in his ear. Eyes going wide, he immediately nodded and ran off.

"What did you just tell my son?" Paul asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing," I said angelically. The Pack all laughed and Sam just grabbed my arms to hug me to him. We stood in the doorway for a while before the questions just had to be answered.

"Dude, how long have you been up?" Quil wondered.

"What was it like?" Seth wondered.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Leah asked.

"How did you know Bella would be here anyways?" Collin wondered.

"Okay, slow it down guys," I said hugging Sam's waist. He smiled down at me and kissed my lips. Turing back to look at the boys he took in a deep breath. "I woke up around 4:10? I think that's when I looked at the clock. I was surprised to be at the Cullen's house, and not having their company nonetheless. Their house is empty?" he wondered.

Everyone nodded, "they're half way across the world right now. We didn't want them sticking around for too long incase they would trigger the wolf gene," Jared explained. Sam nodded, "good idea."

"It was actually Bella's," Brady said. Sam raised an eyebrow at me surprised and I shrugged.

"Moving on," Quil said still waiting for the whole story.

"Anyways, I woke up and went to find Bella. I don't know what you guys want exactly."

"Sam, you've been in coma for over like…a year dude. We were thinking of answers, like what the fuck happened," Jake said.

"Language," Paul scolded.

"They all swore like potty mouths when they walked in the door and saw Sam," I said bluntly to Paul, "I think you are going to have to deal with that rather than what Jake just said." The father rolled his eyes at my logic reasoning.

"So come on, tell us more details," Leah said.

"There isn't much to say," Sam said hugging me. "I just…woke up. It was odd. I felt…funny I guess. It's been a long time since I moved my muscles and phased."

"Did you ever hear our voices?" Jared wondered. "We all stopped by a lot."

"I…I don't really remember guys, I'm sorry."

They all shrugged and tried to think of what else to ask him. His story was very anticlimactic.

"Got them!" Liam said coming in the room with a bunch of boxes of Girl Scout Cookies in hands.

"Awesome," I said helping him take some out of his little arms. Opening some Samoa's, I stuck one in my mouth and enjoyed the deliciousness.

"What happened to dinner?" Paul protested, not liking the chaos of all the guys diving for cookies and his son grabbing the package of Thin Mints.

"Hey, it's a special occasion, it will be fine," I said.

"Yea dad, its just once," Liam agreed calmly while going over to sit on Leah's lap. Everyone knew Leah had a soft spot for the kid and she hated when Paul scolded the youngster just as much as me. Only difference was Leah was not afraid to voice her opinion and scold Paul right back.

As we all shared the boxes, I turned in Sam's arms and smiled up at him. "So, I suggest that you go wolf with one of the other guys at a time, to catch up and all."

"Why just one?" he asked.

"Cause you've missed a lot," I said. "And if you go with more than one guy at a time…it will drive you crazy. You definitely wont be able to keep up with all of the scenes in their heads."

"Hey! I'm offended by that," Embry said.

"You'll get over it bedroom boy," I teased. Embry continued to grumble while we all laughed. Jared and I had come up with the nickname after the temporary Alpha had complained of all of the scenes he was witnessing. It was like Embry couldn't (or wouldn't) shut the mini movie off.

"Who wants to go first?" I asked to the boys.

"What about you?" Sam wondered to me.

"I have to talk with Paul, but don't worry, I'll be around," I smirked up at him. He kissed me quickly, still knowing I wasn't the fondest of PDA in front of the boys.

"I'll go," Seth said getting up. Nodding, I waited for Sam to pull away from me and go in the backyard but he didn't.

"I can't baby, it's just too much," he murmured to me. I would have laughed but I was feeling that exact same way. I didn't have the heart of effort in me to pull away from him.

"Come on, I'll walk you to the backyard so you can go wolf."

Kissing my temple, I took our hands and led us outside. Seth followed along behind us, not waiting for Sam to go wolf.

"Okay," I breathed as we made it outside. Sam was still hugging me tightly. "You should go phase," I muttered as he leaned down to kiss me again.

"One more," I said as he pulled away. Our lips touched briefly, giving each other just little nips and kisses. Finally neither of us could take it and Sam just wrapped his lips in mine. It had been too long since he'd kissed me. I was still getting used to the feeling again. There was a little yip in the air, which I knew was coming from Seth.

"Right," I smiled, filling my lungs with oxygen. "Go, I'll be right here."

Sam nodded, this time actually pulling away. He walked down the steps and looked back at me briefly. My breathing had stopped. A part of me was still thinking he would walk into those woods and never come out. Disappearing from my eyesight, I waited. My heart was pounding in my ears.

A big black wolf came trotting out of the woods and I let my body relax. He came over to me and I ran my hands through his fur. Kissing his muzzle, he rubbed the side of his face against mine. I loved when he did that. It reminded me of when we first met and had a moment out here.

"Bells," Paul said behind me. Looking away from Sam, I nodded. "Go talk with Seth, catch up and when you're ready I'll send another guy out okay?"

Sam's wolfy head nodded and went over to sit by Seth. It wasn't like they had to be by each other, but I wanted to get up and talk with Paul myself.

"So…my son called you mom," he started while we stood near he back door.

"Mother's day is coming up," I said with a sad voice, "he just-…he wants a mom."

Paul looked crushed. "Look, I wish I had the Pack mind and I could show you everything he said to be, but I cant. I don't have that. All I can tell you is that…he wonders why he doesn't have a mom. I know we both talked to him about Lissa but he still doesn't quite understand."

"Paul," I said touching his arm. His eyes were now glassy and I knew he was blaming himself for whatever idea popped into his head.

"I love him calling me mom. And I tried to explain it to him better. Sometimes moms just walk out, and blood doesn't matter; People can make their own family. He is doing that. You should be proud, not sad. He accepts this part of his life."

"I just- I sometimes wonder if I tried harder with Lissa, and if I wasn't who I was…maybe she would have stuck around," he admitted. I sighed.

"Paul, you can't change the past. You were who you were. And if you had changed sooner, William wouldn't have been here. All that matters was you changed- for yourself and your son when the time came. Liam is doing just fine without Lissa, maybe even better. Don't blame yourself. There is nothing you can do about it."

"Sometimes I just wish I imprinted already. I hate the fact that it doesn't happen with every wolf. My son deserves a real family, with a real mom. And…I can't give that to him. I feel like a failure," he said. I bit my lip, feeling for the poor guy. Hugging him, I smiled as he wrapped his arms around me. There was a loud menacing growl that had Paul and I break away from each other.

Paul laughed while giving a hearted chuckle, "is it odd to say I actually miss that sound?"

"No," I laughed along with him. I glanced over to see the wolf Sam watching us with a jealous and territorial growl, "I missed it too."

The wolf's eyes softened and he came over to me. "Its just Paul, I love you." Kissing his head he nuzzled into me. "Are you done with Seth?"

He nodded. Seth trotted away to phase back and Embry came out of the house seconds later. "Don't worry, we heard," Embry said running off to phase. I chuckled and stood back up to finish my talk with Paul.

"Liam doesn't need a perfect family, he just needs you. You're not a failure- look at you. You brought a son into this world who is a perfect gentleman, a kind soul and is _so_ intelligent," I said with compassion. "You aren't doing anything wrong. People can grow up without the modern family. He is doing great."

Paul sighed, "are you sure you don't mind Liam calling you mom?"

I grinned, "not at all."

He chuckled at my response and nodded, "You know I would kiss you to say thanks, but I don't think Sam would really appreciate it."

There was another loud growl and I chuckled as Paul held back a grin, "yea, I know, just go back inside with your son."

Nodding, Paul gave my hand a quick squeeze and then excused himself.

I stayed outside watching Sam interact with the Pack. It took a while for him to comprehend all of the guys' thoughts. It was understandable though. He was gone for over a year- almost two actually. It was still odd to think he was here too. I was just so…mind boggled.

"That's the last of it," Jared said coming out of the woods, being the last one to phase with Sam.

I gave his hair a run through and then giggled when Sam picked me up by the waist and twirled me around. "So how was it?" I asked him. Jared slipped inside the house, smiling as he watched us.

"A lot happened," Sam stated.

"Yea, good thing you have the whole wolf mind thing," I joked while staring up at him. "And just think, I actually found it annoying."

Sam's face broke into a small smile. "You changed," he said staring at me. My eyes furrowed a bit; was that a good thing? And what did he mean by change?

"I'm glad you came back, to the family," he said knowing about my travels. I blushed a bit and nodded. Laying my head on his chest, I entwined our hands, "I couldn't leave them; or us really," I said looking up at him again, "I missed my life."

"I missed _you_," he said letting go of one of my hands to cup my face. Leaning down, he kissed my lips gently. My hands snaked up around his shoulders and to his neck.

"Do I have time to catch up with you now? I know all of the boys' thoughts but nothing of yours," he said caringly.

"Later," I said with a twinkle in my eye, "dinner is almost ready and you have some new people to get accustomed to."

Leading him back into the house, I enjoyed his hands on my waist. He met Andrea, Embry's imprint, and during dinner he got to get to know William a bit more. The rest of the imprints showed up a while later and he caught up with them too.

"My god Sam," Charlie said coming into the house after pulling a long day at work.

"Hey Chief," he said standing up to shake the man's hand. My dad glanced over to me after acknowledging Sam and I could see the relief in his eyes. He really knew now that his little girl was going to be okay.

* * *

><p>After dinner, we all hung around in the living room. Patrols were cancelled and we just all spent time together as a family. I sat on Sam's lap on the couch with Liam's head on my lap. He was fast asleep, snuggling into me as I ran my hands through his hair.<p>

Sam had protected Liam's body with his arm like he was his own. I could tell he really cared about the kid fast too. The alpha's big arms were wrapped around me and set on Liam. It was cute, or so I thought.

Sam had accepted the fact that Paul had a kid, but it didn't stop him from giving him the long lecture I thought my boyfriend would give his brother. Responsibility. Paul needed to be more responsible and blah blah blah. I could tell Sam was catching up on the times, especially with accepting the alpha duty again, which relieved Jared. He then lectured Embry and with almost the same lecture, but this time it was a bit more focused on protection and being careful with his speedy imprint relationship.

After all that was out of the way though, and Sam wound back down, we all had a civil and relaxing conversation. It was nice.

"I should get this little guy home," Paul said getting up from the floor to scoop up his little one.

"Thanks again for watching him Bells," Paul said with a kiss to my cheek.

"Of course," I smiled brightly, leaning over to give Liam a small kiss. From there Embry and Andrea left, and then Kim and Jared.

"Nice to see you up and alive dude," Seth said coming to give his alpha a man hug.

"Yea, good to see you man," Jake said giving Sam another manly hug too.

"Bye guys," I smiled as I pranced over to the front door and watched everyone leave.

"Call me later okay?" Leah said hugging me.

"Will do," I whispered to her as she left. When everyone was gone, I shut the door and sighed. Sam wrapped his arms around me and kissed my head.

"Ready to go home?" Sam asked.

"I am home," I said biting my lip.

"Bells," he sighed as I pulled away from him a bit.

"I haven't been able to step back in your place since…the accident. It was just too hard- too many memories without you."

"Well I'm here now," he said, "think we can go back?"

I sighed, feeling slightly nervous. "I haven't been over there for over a year," I whispered.

"Doesn't mean you still can't go back," he said calming me down.

I swallowed hard and listened to his strong heart beat.

"I want us to live together," he said softly, kissing the top of my head. "Waking up and…catching up with everyone, it makes me see how precious time really is. And I haven't been here for a while. I missed so many things. You're birthday for one," he said.

I sighed again, "Sam, I missed my own birthday too. So did the guys, I was in LA working, its not a big deal."

"To me it is," he said.

"Well I missed yours," I said squeezing his waist. He shrugged and continued to hold me. "I don't want to watch my brothers live their lives with the ones they love and for us to hold back."

"We aren't," I said looking up. "I just-…I just got you back that's all. I don't want to lose you again."

"I know," he said kissing my head.

"Come home with me Bells. Last time I remember, you had your stuff at my place and we were moving along towards our future," he said. I blinked a few times, conjuring up all those thoughts. All of those times I was scared of our future and thinking I was too young. There was still a part of me that felt like that but Sam was somewhat right. I watched my entire family move along with their lives and when Sam was gone, I felt like it was hard to do that. They all moved in with each other and wanted to get married, I was just…stuck. I didn't have control of my future, and I didn't like that.

"Alright, I'll grab some stuff and we'll head to your place," I said giving in. kissing him softly on my tiptoes, I went to go upstairs.

"Our place," he said not letting our hands go, "its our place."

My eyebrows furrowed. That was the thing, that house of Sam's was always going to be his. There was just something about it that I couldn't call mine anymore.

"Baby," I said coming back to face him.

"I want a place where you call the home ours. Not mine, not yours but _ours_," he said watching me carefully.

"I can't call that place mine," I told him honestly. "There are just too many memories that I think of you there. I…" my heart thumped against my chest. "After you were gone…that place…it became yours and yours for good. I think I just…displaced myself from it to try and salvage some of my heart."

Tears welled in my eyes, "and I can't call that place mine. It has to stay yours because…I'm afraid to lose you again," I bit my lips to stop my oncoming sobs but it was hard. "I know you keep telling me that its okay and that I wont lose you again but Sam, I swear, every time I close my eyes, I cant help but think and believe that you're going to disappear. I-"

"okay," he said trying to calm me down.

"I had to live without you for so long. You missed so many things I wished you were here for. And now that I have you…I can't let you go. That house, it just…I cant let myself feel in that place again."

He hushed me silent and swayed us back and forth. Truthfully, I felt like I didn't explain it right. I felt like I left him confused, but in someway, it made complete and perfect sense to me. I couldn't go back and call his home mine. There were so many memories we had together that made my heart clench. They were all in the past, which hurt to think about. But it was also the fact that, that place, was all him. He created his own memories there and I wasn't sure if I could open myself up enough to add myself to the mix.

"We'll find our own place," he said repetitively as he calmed me down.

"Wh-at?" I asked still a bit shook up. I pulled my head away from his chest and glanced up at him. That was a big step too.

"I mean what I said. I want somewhere that we can live together that's ours. If it means selling my place and getting you out of here then so be it. I want the future to be the present," He stared into my eyes, searching for fear or anxiousness. Of course, he did find some but it wasn't like before.

"You sound like you're about ready to ask me to marry you too," I joked.

"Thought about it," he said teasingly. My heart skipped and he smirked, hearing it all too well. "Being in coma is an eye opening experience. No more waiting or touching on the scary subjects. Whatever it is, whenever it happens, I want us to have it all. I want us to be together forever."

"Okay," I breathed trying to take it one step at a time. "No wedding vows yet, just moving in with each other," I clarified.

"I'll take that…for now," he smirked. Rolling my eyes, I leaned up and kissed him.


	16. Chapter 16

_**A/N: Love all the reviews, thank you sooo much. Hopefully by the time the story ends I'll have over 100? Sorry for the not so quick update, I'll try to upload another one sooner. Let me know what you think of the chapter- Enjoy!**_

We took my truck to Sam's place. He of course, was behind the wheel while I curled my body up against him. Parking in his driveway, I let out a small breath. It was all too scary to be here again. I could feel how tense he was too and felt selfish. Sam had just woken up from a coma and plopped himself back into life. Of course he was feeling a lot too.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yea, just…crazy to be back here," he said looking at his place.

"You sure you want to be back here so soon? We can still crash at Charlie's," I bargained.

"No, I want to be here. We need to be here," he said gently looking over to me. Nodding, we hopped out of the car and held each other as we stepped towards the front door.

"You're heart is about to hammer out of your chest," he commented as we stood in the entrance of his house.

"Hey, we don't have to do this," he said now worried about me more than him. My eyes had a hard time leaving the front of his house. Everything should be the opposite. I should be worried about his state of mind.

"Stop trying to fret about me," he said catching my thoughts. I rolled my eyes, forgetting how he could do that.

"Did you want to go?" he wondered. I shook my head and forced a small smile on my face, "just…kiss me?"

Chuckling, he brought me closer to him and laid one on me hard.

* * *

><p>I forgot what it was like to be so close to Sam. To lay with him on our bed- my head on his chest while he kissed the top of my head.<p>

"I thought I lost you," I admitted. He shook his head holding me tighter. Our lips met and the kiss started off soft. It was everything I could imagine and missed. He turned the both us so we were on our sides, so our hips could face each other and be intimately joined.

"Sam," I breathed out as his lips attacked my neck again. It had been so long. It was like everything was sensitive. I was moaning loudly just as his hands roamed my body.

"Please," I whined as he rubbed his thumbs over my nipples. With a hard nip to my neck, he pulled off his shirt from my body and rolled me on my back.

My senses were overflowing as my body tingled. He was here, right here. His warm mouth came over my breast, taking it full in his mouth. My back arched high as my mouth opened. He sucked and kissed and licked. The coil in my stomach was tightening and I knew I needed him.

"Sam, please," I whined as I tugged at his hair. "I need you. I need you inside me," I pleaded as he continued his actions. His hands roamed down my body, cupping my ass to grind against his hardness. I let out a moan, unbelieved at how aroused he was.

So this is what sex was like when two people haven't had it in over a year.

I tried my hardest to not let his hands get to me as he continued to play with my body, but it was hard. Every touch and lick, he had me moaning. Every fiber in my being wanted me to cum, but I wanted Sam to be in me.

"Let go," he growled as he kissed my stomach. I went to protest but he just dipped his tongue in my belly button and aroused me further. My body couldn't take it any longer, a gush of fluid ran in-between my thighs and I was met with stars in my vision.

Sam sniffed the air and growled. Immediately his head was between my thighs lapping me up. I let out a cry at how sensitive I was. His tongue licked flat against me, taking all of me. Soon his tongue entered me and I came again. His growl rocked my body and gave me aftershocks. I was panting in bed. How could he stand this?

I looked down at him. His head was still in-between me, enjoying my taste. Pulling his head back up to mine, I ground myself against him and moaned. I sounded like a porn star, but he seemed to be liking it. He took my hips, letting my naked cunt run over his hard dick.

"Yes," I panted out as we gathered friction. He came close to letting go, and growled when he realized it. Letting go of my hips, he lingered over my naked body to get control of himself. My opportunity was now or never. Grabbing his boxer, I pushed them off of him. I swear I almost came at the sight of him. He was just as big as I remembered. His dick was fucking huge, standing at attention as he waited to be inside of me.

"God, Fuck!" I yelled arching my body off the bed as his fingers entered me. I didn't even realize he had gone down to do such a thing to me. I whimpered and moan as his fingers went in and out of me. He knew my body like his favorite sport.

"Sam," I moaned out as his thumb rubbed circles on my clit. With a few more thrusts into my wet center, I was gone, calling out his name.

My body hit the bed as I laid underneath him. All he did was watch. He wouldn't let me give him anything and he took everything from me.

"I need you now," I said to him. "I need to you take me now, please, oh fuck," I groaned as he was giving into my demand. His dick was at my center, waiting to thrust into me.

His eyes gazed into mine; with as much control as I could muster, I opened mine to look at him. He pushed himself inside of me and I let out a noise, letting my eyes roll back in my head as I enjoyed the pleasure. His thrusts were wild and crazy. I never knew he had such speed. We tried all sorts of positions. Orgasm after orgasm, I called out his name, raking my nails up his back. He almost came once, as I squeezed my inner muscles against him, but again, he stopped his actions and just let out growls.

"Please baby," I panted. He nipped at my neck, staying still inside me. He gave a sharp thrust inside me and I let out a cry.

"I need you to mark me," I whined as he sucked on my skin. His head came up and our foreheads touched.

"You're not ready," he told me in his deep voice.

"I've been ready since I saw you standing there out of coma. Please baby," I said staring into his deep black eyes.

"You sure?" he whispered in my ear as he nuzzled our faces together.

"Positive," I gasped as he pulled out of me so only his tip was inside of me. He shoved himself back into me and rocked us together. "Fuck," I panted out as I could feel the tight spring inside me. Yet again, I came around his dick, screaming his name but this time, as I felt his muscles tighten, he didn't stop to try and gain more self-control. He just kept thrusting and nipping at my neck. He was sucking and kissing and growling.

"Fuck baby, come on," he chanted as he continued to hammer inside me. I let out a long moan, arching my back to him.

"Yea, like that," he panted as I squeezed around his tight spear of flesh inside me.

"Come on, please," I panted, gasping as I was close to come again. What was this? My millionth orgasm?

"Bella," he gritted out as he grabbed my hips to bring him closer to me. With a twist to the left, I threw my head back and let go, allowing him to hear my one last orgasm. He bit on my neck then. He stilled inside me, filling me with his hot jet as he marked me. His mouth sucked on the spot of my neck as his tongue lapped me up.

"Holy fuck," was all I could say as I came down from my high. He was still obsessing over my neck. I put my hand over the back of his head, twisting it in his black locks.

"You're mine," he growled out against my ear. I grinned and turned to meet his eyes. "I was always yours. Now I'm just yours forever."

* * *

><p>We fell asleep hours later. He was still fascinated that he marked me. He had been wanting to do it for so long, and now he finally did.<p>

"Mmmm," I groaned, snuggling closer in his side. He let out a deep chuckle and wrapped his arm closer to me. Bringing my lips to his warm body, I let out another hum of content before opening my eyes. He was staring down at me with so much love and happiness.

"Hi," I said softly.

"Hi," he said back. Sliding up the bed, I kissed him softly, making sure I was really awake.

"You're not dreaming," he mumbled against my lips as I hesitated. Opening my eyes, I smirked a bit. He really had that mind reading thing down. Kissing him again I laid back down on his shoulder and pulled the sheets up higher to cover my body.

"I should shower," I sighed.

"**We** should shower," Sam corrected. I let out a laugh and moved to draw patterns on his chest. I had done this so many times when he was lying down at the Cullen's, but now? Now he was moving and catching my fingers in his big warm hand.

Kissing the tips of each of my fingers, I finally had the chance to kiss him again.

"You need a haircut," I commented, now finally realizing his hair was longer and pretty shaggy.

"I'll have Sue cut it today," he murmured against my lips.

"You're stopping by Sue's today?" I wondered. He nodded. "Everyone has been calling our cell phones for the last two hours, I finally put them on silent so they wouldn't wake you up."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. I hadn't heard anything.

"So then what's the plan today?" I wondered.

"Nothing- just a you and me day," he said. I hummed at the sound.

"Last time we were here, you were sad," he spoke. My heart clenched a bit, rerunning the scenes of when Sam left to chase the vampire. He squeezed my side and kissed my head. "What happened that day?" he wondered, "why were you so upset?"

I shrugged and tried to get as much comfort as I could from him. "I don't know. I asked myself that for a while," I said. "Jared thought that it could have been I knew something was going to happen. He said imprints could feel things that others cant explain. Kim has done it a few times. Like one time," I said with a breath, "Kim had this sinking feeling in her stomach, and then next morning Jared had gotten in a fight with Paul and beat up pretty bad."

Kissing his bare chest, I continued my story. "So I talked to Billy about it, and he said that could have been it. I couldn't place what I was feeling, neither could you, but when you held me I felt a bit better. I was probably feeling something bad that was going to happen- obviously it did."

He sighed.

"That's probably why I felt so guilty," I admitted. Turning my eyes away from him, I focused my vision on something else. Anything but him. "I slipped into darkness for a while after you were gone. I just…couldn't handle it. The imprint was tearing at me."

Sam squeezed me to look at him, but I couldn't just yet. I didn't want to fall apart and I had to get this out. "Finally one day, Rosalie came over to Charlie's and talked some sense into me. She didn't think I should have felt guilty for what happened to you. The vampire was gone and you weren't really dead. I had to be strong- for you and the Pack. And she was right. I had been selfishly cowering from the world- of course, she said it wasn't selfish but I beg to differ," I mumbled. "I just- I felt really horrible. If I would have known what that strange feeling meant earlier maybe we could have been ready for it. You wouldn't have slipped into that weird coma and we would have been fine. Life would have moved on right."

Sam tilted my head so I looked up at him, "things happen for a reason. And as cheesy and over used that expression can be, I try to believe in it. If things had happened differently…we wouldn't have ended up where we were today. There would be a different Liam, a different you, and even a different me. You never know, maybe if we were to know earlier of the vampire's intentions, you would have gotten hurt," he said, "and I wouldn't be able to live myself if that would of happened."

"Sam," I sighed. He was always so focused on me, always the selfless one. "Bella," he said getting my attention, "I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you. You're my imprint, its my job and duty to keep you safe and happy. If I fail at that…if I would have…I would have never been strong enough to pick myself up like you did."

My eyes fell downcast. Sometimes I had to think that this imprinting thing was bad. It caused us to be so love sick he was willing to die if something happened to me.

"Don't blame yourself because I wouldn't have wanted life's events to happen any other way," he told me. We stayed in bed a while longer before he wanted us to take a shower.

"Lets house hunt today?" he asked as we stood under the spray of hot water.

"You have time?" I asked. I knew he needed to get some Pack stuff down and meet with Sue. "Maybe we should push off our things until tomorrow, that way you can catch up on what you missed," I bargained. He shook his head and took my hands in his, "I'm not doing that anymore. You and me first, I don't care what you say," he said coming to kiss me.

"Oh really?" I said pulling back a bit.

"Really," he growled capturing my lips again. I giggled a bit after a while. Finally when the time came, we pulled away and actually showered.

"Definitely need to see Sue today," I laughed as I morphed his hair into a Mohawk with the soapy shampoo. He rolled his eyes at my antics and shook his hands through his hair.

"Well I like your hair," he said, getting my hair all sudsy again.

"Sam," I whined, already washing it. I stuck my head back under the stream of water and rinsed it again. Tying it up in a wet bun with my hair tie on my wrist, I moved to get out of the shower so he could finish up. When I was out, I quickly bee lined for my stuff. Grabbing a bra and some panties, I quickly slipped those on before going back to the bathroom to put on some make up and dry my hair.

The brown brushes went over my face, evening out my skin color and adding some more sophistication to my looks.

"Hey handsome," I smiled to Sam as he watched me in the mirror. Dropping my brush, I sauntered over to him. Grabbing my waist, he brought us chest to chest and kissed me possessively. Pulling away, he looked down at my neck and ran his fingers over the mark. My body shivered at the touch. Whatever the mark meant, it had an extreme effect on me. I could feel sparks run down my body, almost as if it electrified energy through me.

Glancing at Sam, I found him a bit more possessive looking than normal, "what?" I questioned.

"What does the mark make you feel when I touch it?" he wondered.

"I feel sparks, all down my body, almost as if it's an adrenaline rush," I explained, "and I can feel your possessiveness. I actually feel a lot more of what you're feeling," I thought.

"What else?" he asked still truly curious. "I feel…connected to you. Does that make sense? Its like we are no longer teetering different wave lengths with each other."

"Yea," he said looking down at me, "I feel it too. I can't seem to let my hands leave you for too long," he said.

"Yea, that happened with or without the mark," I teased. "What else do you feel?" I wondered this time.

"I feel you- a lot better than before. Its like I can easily read you, without even trying to think."

"That's…kinda freaky," I said tilting my head. He kissed my mouth briefly before bending down to kiss my mark. Sparks flew through my body again, but this time I was a bit aroused.

"Not cool," I breathed as I felt my knees go weak. He chuckled, holding me close to make sure I didn't hurt myself.

"I definitely could use that to my advantage," he snickered. I playfully glared at him. His stomach interrupted us, which caused me to laugh. I actually missed that too.

"Come on, get ready and then we can stop by Sue's diner. You won't have anything here."

Sam nodded and kissed me again. The boys had taken the liberty to clear out Sam's house from all the food that would expire quickly. They had actually made a few trips here from time to time as he continued to lie sleeping. When we were both dressed, we left the house, ready to start the day.

* * *

><p>"My god," Sue exclaimed as Sam and I walked in the diner. Smiling, I watched as the woman came over to elope Sam in a hug.<p>

"Hey Sue," he said in a deep gruff voice.

"Sam Uley, you're like a walking miracle," she said. "Morning Bella," Sue said coming over to hug me too.

"Hey Sue," I smiled.

Table for two?" she asked smiling at us.

"Yes please," I chirped. She led us to a booth and set down our menus. "Good to see you both," she stated. "Oh and Sam, we need to get that hair chopped. Stop by around 8? Seth should be home in case I'm running late," she said.

"Thanks Sue," he smiled.

"Of course," she smirked back. Leaving us alone, I picked up a menu and looked through all my options. It felt so normal to be sitting here yet I didn't feel normal at all.

"So are you going to tell me about what I missed with you?" Sam wondered. I peered over at him surprised he was still asking.

"I know you went to LA for a while, how was that?" he asked.

Shrugging, I set my menu down and thought of my response, "It was busy. Honestly, I could live without it."

"But traveling was something you liked to do," he said laying back in his seat. I raised an eyebrow at his statement. Since when did he know that?

"Oh come on Bella, it wasn't that hard to read. I know you enjoyed it when you tried it the first time. And I'm almost positive you debated it a time or two before everything happened," he said.

"Why didn't you ever confront me about this?" I wondered cocking my head to the side. I had underestimated my boyfriend.

"I know you better than you think," he smirked, still somewhat reading my mind, "and I thought you would tell me when you were ready. If you wanted it that badly, I knew you would bring it up again."

I nodded, still impressed.

"So what was it really like?" he wondered. "I know from the boys that you missed being home…but there wasn't much detail about it."

I shrugged again, thanking the waitress for my drink. "It was good- fine I guess," I started. "I didn't really have much time to get settled down. I was immediately engrossed into work- meeting the artist, showing the song, rehearsing the song, recording the song, and making another one. I usually didn't go back to my hotel to 2 or 3 in the morning and most days I would have to wake up at 5 or 6 in the morning too so I lived a repetitive schedule," I sighed.

"But you flew home for family events," Sam said. I nodded and smiled a bit. "I took some time off for Liam's birthday, and when Liam was sick," I smirked thinking of those days again, "but other than that, I didn't come home very often. I didn't have a chance."

I bit my lip. "Honestly, it was great to go out and travel, but LA was just a bit too fast paced for me. I never had time to breath and everything changed when Liam came into the picture."

"Liam huh?" he asked. "I like that name for him."

I smirked, "yea cute kid huh?"

"I can't believe Paul really has a son," he breathed as our food was served in front of us a while later.

"Trust me when I say he couldn't believe it either," I snickered. Sam looked at me funny. Going over all of the stories I had experienced with the man, I filled in to Sam how anxious Paul really was.

"He's a good dad though. Sometimes he gets a little too harsh, but hey, what parent doesn't," I spoke.

"You're good with them- Paul and Liam I mean. Paul showed me how much you've helped him through everything," Sam said putting some food in his mouth.

I shrugged, not really sure if I should be taking credit, "I would have done it for any person in the Pack. They're family." Sipping my hot chocolate, I ate another bite of toast.

After we were done at the diner, Sam walked us out hand in hand, ready to start house hunting.

"Are you sure you don't want to meet with the Pack today instead? We can really make time for this tomorrow," I said getting in the car and buckling up.

"No, it's you and me today," he said kissing my hand. Smirking, I watched him start the car and drive out of there.

"Okay, so I was thinking somewhere still near the beach," I pitched.

"Whatever you want," he said.

"Sam," I whined, "this is going to be your place to you know."

He smirked and I narrowed my eyes at him. Hitting his chest lightly I shook my head in disbelief, "You just wanted to hear me say that," I laughed.

"It sounded good," he smirked. Trying to act mad, I failed at it poorly and smiled at the silly thought. He really did like hearing we were getting a place together- that was _ours_.

"So the beach," he repeated, "any other thoughts?"

"Not really," I shrugged, "just somewhere nice. Doesn't have to be anything special."

"Hmm," he hummed deep in thought. Driving around, I found us pulling up to a house.

"Wha-.."

"Come on," he said before I could ask anything. Dragging me out of the car, he tucked himself against me and leaned close to my ear as I faced the nice place. "What do you think?"

"I think…we are in front of someone's house," I spoke confused.

"A possible house of ours," he said. Whipping my head to look at him, my eyes went wide. "What?"

"Do you like it?" he wondered nervously. I glanced back at the house, taking the quickest look at it before staring at him again. "Of course I do but…how- actually when did you find this place?" I asked. I had been with him ever since he came back from his deep sleep. So when did he even have time to check this place out?

"While you were sleeping, I had a bit of time to myself. I checked out some things online and well…I could picture you and me here. There would need to be a bit of fixing up but nothing we couldn't get done. Some guy on the res built it but never had enough money to get everything done that he wanted so he put it up for sale."

"So its…ours?" I wondered.

"If you say the word, yea it can be," he spoke carefully. Still shocked, I turned back to the house and tried to picture myself here. Funny thing was, that I actually could. And it wasn't just one of those things where you see yourself sitting out on the porch, but it was a place where I could see our kids running around and the Pack coming through the woods to visit.

"I want it," I breathed. "No matter how much fixing up you think we have to do, I want it."

Sam walked up to me and kissed my head, "okay, then its ours."

Letting out a shocked breath, I turned around to face him and smiled, "its ours."

Kissing him softly, I bit my lip and pulled him forth to go check the place out. There was a long wooden porch, with two small steps leading to the front of the house. It may have needed a few more boards or two, but it looked pretty perfect. Walking inside the huge doorway, I found that there were actually no doors yet.

"Open entryway?" I questioned to my man.

"Yea, we'll fix that first," he said. Smirking, I turned back to look around. The kitchen space was pretty big. Not as big as his house he had now, but it was way better than Charlie's house. There was a ton of wall space, and the utilities looked pretty new. Plus, there were a bunch of windows and a long counter, which had my name all over it. There were a few wooden beams around the place too, which I found I liked. It added sophistication to the place.

The kitchen had pretty much connected itself with the living room. It was all kind of a big empty space. The only way you could really tell that it was cut off was the fact that there were some steps that lowered down into a huge family room. There was a huge double lined window to my left and a stone fireplace on the farthest wall. Off to the side on my right, was angled staircase, leading to the second level. The room was pretty cozy for being such a big size.

Moving farther into the large room I went down the hall, opposite to the wall of the stairs. I found a doorway to the bathroom on my left, and then one to the study further down on my right. From there, the hallway turned and led to the laundry room and back door where more trees were.

"This place is amazing," I breathed, circling back. The study was a small quaint room. It opened with a nice wooden framed glass door. There were two tall bookshelves waiting to hold things, while a desk was also pushed off to the side.

The bathroom was a bit small, but it also had a door too. There was a sink and a toilet; not much to tell really.

Moving to go back upstairs, I smiled as Sam quietly followed me. There was a small loft space to my right and a bunch of rooms all around. Going into the first one, I saw a nice sized bedroom, probably perfect for our first kid. There were a bunch of windows and angles, trimming the walls nicely. After that, I stopped to look in the bathroom, which was bigger than the one downstairs. This one held a sink, toilet, shower and tub. It was actually pretty big for a bathroom. Shutting off the light, I went to look in the hall closet and then the other rooms. There was another guest room. It was big too, but this time it was longer. It held a bunch of windows like the rest, a nice sized closet, and even a sitting ledge to read and write.

Going to the last room, I stepped inside and gasped. This room was definitely our room. It was the biggest out of all them. It was wide, spacious, and long. It had huge windows at the far wall and a balcony too. There were lights all over and the room had its own bathroom to the far right.

"Wow," I breathed. Continuing to check everything out, I gasped at the space. Our bathroom was even bigger than the other two. It had a huge shower, a nice tub and a big sink and toilet.

"So…you like it?" He wondered as I continued to stare.

"When can we move in?" I smiled. He grinned, loving my answer. Walking over, I kissed him long and hard. "Thank you," I whispered.

"Mmm, no baby, thank _**you**_."

Taking another look at our house, I couldn't wait to move.

"Did you want to go shopping for some stuff? We could start painting," he suggested. My eyes brightened. "Really? You sure?"

"Positive," he spoke. Nodding, he pulled me to leave. I found it actually a bit hard to go. This place was like my dream house, finished or not.

"I'll get the guys to help me with the wood for the front door," he said. I nodded, looking back after seeing some more beams. I missed those when we first walked in.

"So color ideas?" he wondered as we drove off.

"Maybe a blue? Or a dark forest green?" I suggested. "What about some reds? Maybe a burgundy?" he nodded, wrapping arm around to hold me close.

It had been hours at the paint store. Jared took the liberty of meeting us at the home improvement store. He and Seth helped Sam grab different types of wood and stick them in the truck along with some sheets of glass.

"Wow guys," Jared said after taking a small tour of the house for himself.

"That's what I said," with a giggle, taking another peek around the place.

"I like the woods," Seth commented.

"Perfect for us," Jared said.

"There's a beach a little ways away," Sam spoke. Turning to look at him, I raised an eyebrow, not knowing that information. Stalking over to me, he held me in his arms. "We can start working on this tomorrow," he told the men. With a nod, Jared and Seth said their goodbyes and left.

"Its like our own little project," I smirked, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Kissing me softly, we both pulled away in content, "that it is," Sam murmured.

_**A/N: How did you like it? Did it make you go 'awww'? I hope that I gave you a good enough visual on the house. **_

_**Oh and to hawaiiangrl- you will just have to wait and see! As for right now, no one else is phasing because there are no vampires around for the people to do so. But as for Liam…it can still be a possibility! ;)**_


	17. Chapter 17

We got back to Charlie's around 6ish? We brought take out with us so I didn't have to cook.

"Bella?" my dad asked.

"Hey daddy," I chirped stepping in with Sam.

"Boys," I smiled seeing Jared and Seth again, along with everyone else.

"So you're really moving out huh?" Charlie wondered to me as everyone came barreling for the food. Squeezing Sam's hand, I told him to go ahead so I could talk to my dad alone.

"I love the house," I shrugged helplessly. "It's amazing."

"You sure its time?" he wondered.

"More sure than I've been in a while," I spoke with honesty. "I feel like I need to move on with my life somewhere. And that place- its absolutely perfect to do so."

Charlie nodded sighing as he accepted his daughter growing up. "Did you guys need any help putting it together? You're old man isn't too bad with tools," he said as we walked into the kitchen.

"Of course," I said with a smile.

* * *

><p>"So details on what it looks like," Sarah said after Sam left to get his haircut. "Its absolutely perfect. Completely gorgeous and fits Sam and I."<p>

The girls all melted in their seats, except for Leah really.

"When do we get to see it?" the female wolf asked.

"Sam and I are going to be working on it tomorrow. I think he is pulling some of the guys aside too. So if you want to help, you're welcome to join us, the more the merrier," I spoke.

"Of course," Kim sang. After talking for a little while longer, some of the guys popped in a movie and we all sat around to watch it. I was surprisingly tired for doing nothing during the day.

"You want me to drive you back to Sam's Bells?" Jake asked.

"Yea," I sighed getting up. Sam should be done with his haircut soon but I knew Sue wanted to catch up with him so it could be a while. Waiting for Jake to say goodbye to his imprint, we took my truck and he drove me back like a pure gentleman.

I was a bit hesitant when we pulled up to Sam's, still feeling that dark feeling. Maybe having him drive me back wasn't such a good idea.

"Did you want me to go in with you?" Jake wondered, watching me carefully. I paused, trying to level my fear of being alone.

"I think I'm okay."

"Alright, well you can always call if you need me. The guys are still around too. "

Nodding, both Jake and I slipped out of the car. "Sam should be here soon," he said.

"I am here," a deep voice said. Surprised, I found Sam coming up the driveway in the dark.

"Hey, how did you know we'd be here?" I wondered as he came to give me a kiss.

"Saw the truck. Thanks for taking her here Jake," he said.

"Anytime bro. See you guys tomorrow," Jake smiled, flashing us each a grin before walking off to the woods.

"You okay?" Sam wondered, bending his knees to read me again.

"Yea, just had weird feelings," I said trying to brush it off as I referred to the house. He nodded and kissed me softly.

"You look good," I commented after we pulled away. I reached up and shook my hand threw his newly cropped hair. Smiling a bit he kissed me again and led us into his house.

"Just think, tomorrow, we will be back in _**our**_ place," he said leading me to the bedroom.

"I like that," I breathed as I threw myself on the bed.

"So how was Sue's?" I wondered laying on my side.

"Good," he said coming to lie next to me. Running a hand through my brown locks, he leaned in and kissed me softly. I watched him as we broke apart. He seemed so calm. Smiling, I inched my body closer to his and sighed in content when his big arms wrapped around me.

"Love you," I whispered in the darkness.

"Love you too," he murmured while kissing my head. We fell asleep in peace, each exhausted from the day.

My cell phone was actually the thing that woke me up. It was all the way downstairs with my bag. Groaning, I rolled over and rubbed my eyes. Sam was still sleeping, trying hard to ignore the ringing device too. Sliding out of bed, I padded downstairs to get it.

"Hello?" I asked squinting at the brightness of outside.

"Bella, its Pete. We haven't talked in a while," he spoke. I sighed. Pete was right about that. I hadn't talked to him since I told him I was leaving LA and I hadn't made a song since then either. It was like my temporary break.

"Hey, what can I do for you?" I wondered. I ran a hand through my hair trying to wake up.

"I just…wanted to see how you were. You were in the fast track, and we haven't talked in a while," he spoke. I partially was aware that he was saying, 'haven't talked to you in a while, are you going to be making more songs so we can keep rolling in the dough?' but I also knew deep down inside, part of him was actually worried. He was cool like that.

"Yea, everything is good. I really haven't had much time to work," I said.

"Not number one priority anymore huh?" he said.

"Never really was," I spoke honestly, "but yea, it's not really a priority at all anymore."

He sighed, "Well then all I can say is wish you luck. When you're ready to join the business again I would be happy to help you. You're a great girl."

I smiled; he thought I was leaving the business? "Pete, can we just keep calling my non money making streak a break? I don't want to leave just yet, but I opened up a place and I'm getting a house; I'll see if I can try and fit music in there somewhere okay?"

He chuckled, almost relieved that I was bargaining my time with him, "that sounds wonderful Bella, you call me when your ready."

"Will do," I confirmed and hung up. I went to turn back to go upstairs when the kitchen caught my sight. I sucked in a breath and remembered the scenes that had happened over a year ago. It was like yesterday when I snuck up behind Sam and watched him make our dinner. Stepping a bit closer, I could see everything unfolding easily. I remember glancing out the window and seeing the vampire, and even the look on Sam's face when he saw why I was afraid.

"You should still be in bed," a voice ran out. Breaking out of my reverie, I turned around a bit startled. Sam was sitting on the stairs watching me.

"I-umm… had a call," I said pointing to my bag. Feeling a bit flustered I bit my lip and turned to my hands. He was analyzing me, I knew he was. And with the marking, I'm sure he could easily pick up on what I was feeling.

"Come here," he said getting up and coming down the stairs to comfort me.

I let out a breath trying to relax myself as I curled my body against him. "Sometimes they're just too much," I admitted, referring to the memories his house held. "I'm reminded of what happened. And they just-…"

"Okay," he breathed trying to get me calmed down.

"They remind me of how I lost you," I whispered.

"But I came back," he said strongly, "I recovered and came back to you. You need to focus on that. I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere."

I swallowed hard getting emotional. "But for that time being, that long year," I said pulling away to look at him, "I didn't know that- I didn't know you would be waking up and returning to me. And it took something- a part of me. Without you for that time was…hard," I said, finding the word to be nothing compared to what I felt, "and every time I think about it, it just…floors me," I spoke.

"I am thankful for you being here now, I'm so thankful, but no matter what, in the back of my head, I cant help that this is too good to be true- I have to be dreaming," I said shakily. "I'm so afraid to lose you, even more so now."

Sam held one of my shaky hands that I placed on his chest and drew circles on the back of it. "I can't take away those memories," he said softly, "but I promise you, to create a lifetime of memories more that are so much better than them."

My heart melted at his words. How could one man be so kind?

"And I promise you that I will be here for you- not just to remind you you're really here, but to help you overcome your fear. I will be here for you, everyday for the rest of our lives."

Sniffling, I smiled a bit and brought his lips down to meet mine. His arms hugged me tight, passionately holding me as we kissed. Not only was I afraid to be dreaming, but it was also falling so hard for him that I would never recover again if he were to leave me. And the possibility of him actually leaving me was real. Something could happen a day from now, or maybe a week and a year. Something could always happen, which scared me shitless because that meant those were all the opportunities where I could lose him.

"Go up to bed, I'll make us some breakfast," he said, panting as we pulled away. I was hesitant, wondering if leaving him was the best idea. The memory of years back could be the same but maybe this time I wasn't here to point out the danger.

"Stop," he commanded slowly as he put our foreheads together. "There's nothing out there. The boys have been patrolling and keeping watch. No sightings of anything remember?"

I nodded slowly while taking a deep breath, he was right- of course he was right.

"Go on, I'll be up in a few."

Giving him one last kiss, I left his arms and uncertainly trotted back upstairs. Lying on my side of the bed, I turned my back to the door and cuddled with my pillow. Sam would be back, I had to believe that. Watching the cloudy outside, I felt a little more relaxed. Sure the weather wasn't the greatest here, but it was home. The day wasn't dark like most, it was just hazy.

I heard the clinking and clanking of the tray Sam was using for our food and I knew he was coming up. Smiling a bit, I buried my head in the pillow. I had to get over this fear of my boyfriend not returning. It was silly.

His presence was obvious; I could even feel it without seeing him. He set the tray down on the floor and then crawled on the bed to reach me. Moving my hair, he kissed my neck softly and I giggled. Turning a bit, I looked over at him and smiled. My hand reached up to touch his face and I kissed him slowly. Breaking away, he marveled down at me and then leaned in to nip at my neck again. I moaned a bit, loving when he did this. My body shivered against him when he kissed the mark. He loved getting that reaction out of me.

"Mr. Uley," I breathed. He hummed out, acknowledging my words.

"You're being a tease," I moaned as he licked my mark. Moving to look at me, he had a huge grin on his face.

"So not cool," I commented as he kissed me again. Sliding up the bed, I waited to see what he made for breakfast. He brought the tray up to me and I was surprised he got all of this done in the short amount of time he was away. There was fruit, toast, jam, pastries, and some scrambled eggs. I knew he had gone to the store yesterday for a few things but I was surprised he picked up all of this stuff.

Sitting beside me, we dug into the breakfast together, getting ready to start the day.

* * *

><p>Sam brought us to our house around one in the afternoon. After we had breakfast, we packed a few things around the house into some boxes he had also picked up yesterday. It was funny to label things like 'kitchen' or 'bedroom'. It was felt unreal. I was moving in with someone who I once thought could never be the love of my life.<p>

"What?" Sam wondered coming up behind me as I marveled at the house again.

"Nothing," I smiled.

He nipped at my mark, which caused me to hit his chest lightly. My body shivered again and made sparks run down my body. "I love that," he announced proud of himself.

"I know," I groaned lightly as I pulled away to put some more kitchen things in their place.

"Hey," he said coming over and twisting my waist so I was facing him. Leaning in, he kissed me softly, making sure I understood he loved me.

"Alright," Leah said walking into the house.

"No door?" Kim wondered behind her.

"He's working on that," I smiled, pointing to Sam. Giving me one last peck on the mouth, he said hello to the girls and was off to work on that door.

"Nice place," Andrea commented sweetly.

"Come on, I'll give you guys the tour," I chirped, leaving the kitchen. I showed them all around the house and let them express their own thoughts.

"This makes me want to get my own place with Jake," Sarah admitted.

"Yea, you're the first one to do this," Kim said. I titled my head thinking about that. Yea, I guess I was. While the rest of the girls were moving in with their guys, Sam and I were actually getting a place together. Equals. I liked that.

"So…two guest bedrooms," Leah commented.

"Kids?" Kim suggested.

I rolled my eyes and drifted back into the kitchen. "Lets just focus on one step at a time here," I commented.

"That is a step," Sarah teased.

"I'm not even married yet," I protested.

"Things can happen," Kim pushed.

"And I'm sure your man wouldn't have any trouble asking you," Andrea teased. Everyone laughed, even me a little.

"Yea yea, for right now they are guest bedrooms, nothing more," I said laying down the line to the girls.

"Sure, sure," Kim smirked. Shooting her a glare, I continued to put away some more things.

"Hey Bells," Jake said coming in, giving his imprint a kiss.

"What's up Jake?" I smiled.

"Sam said you wanted some painting done? I guess I'm starting on that."

"Sweet," I smiled. Grabbing some cans that were on the floor, I handed him his tools and told him to start with the living room.

"Anything we can help with?" Leah asked.

"Did you want to help me repaint the kitchen? I think it need a touch up," I said referring to the dull yellow paint. They all nodded, getting the brushes and stuff out.

"Ladies," Paul said coming in with Liam.

"Hey!" I said getting down from the counter to kiss my boys hello.

"Hi mommy," Liam smiled at me.

"Oh, I love you," I cooed as he ran in my arms.

"Hey Paul," I smiled kissing his cheek.

"I like the color," he said referring to my nice yellow walls.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"Daddy, can we go explore?" Will asked.

"Sure, come on," Paul said pulling his son out of my arms to give him a tour. Kissing the kid's cheek one last time, I let his daddy take him and get back to work.

"He is the cutest thing," Sarah commented.

"A lot of Paul in him," Kim commented.

"Too much," Leah joked. We all laughed. After finishing the kitchen paint, us girls admired our handy work.

"Nicely done," I said each giving them a high five.

"Elley!" Liam squealed running right into me. I let out a small 'oomf' and patted his back. "Can I have the room on the…right?" he asked making little 'L's with his fingers to figure out his directions. I let out a little laugh.

"Bud, you aren't staying here, this isn't your home," Paul said coming into the room.

"But it's a guest room daddy. You said so. I'm a guest," he spoke. I smirked. "Of course Liam, that one can be yours."

"Can we paint it blue?" he asked.

"Sure," I chirped. "Here, you take this," I said gathering a can of paint and some brushes. I was going to use it for a different room but hey, what Liam wants, he gets. "You go upstairs and start painting with your daddy okay? I'll send up some more recruits."

Will's eyes lit up as he was handed a paintbrush. Smiling, I kissed his head and handed Paul some paint cans. "You didn't think you weren't going to stop by here and not work did you?" I charmed. My Pack brother chuckled and followed his hyper son upstairs.

"I'll go help them," Leah volunteered.

"Wait up," Embry said giving me a quick hello, along with his imprint before going upstairs.

"Did you want to go shopping for some stuff? Maybe furniture?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, I love doing that," Andrea added.

"Then how about I leave it up to you," I chuckled, "That's not really my ideal shopping trip. So…you think you can handle it?"

"Hell yea!" Andrea said taking the keys to the car I held up.

"We'll text you pictures," Sarah smiled before rushing out of the house. Chuckling, I let out a breath. Well at least that's checked off on the list.

* * *

><p>All throughout the afternoon I was sent pictures on my phone of furniture for the loft and possible living room. Sam and I had still been debating if we wanted to take his stuff or not. The two imprints were actually really good at what they were doing. They helped me eliminate some of the furniture they picked out and helped me place the things that I did really want. By the time they got back, Charlie, Billy, and Sue were walking in with dinner.<p>

"Hi daddy," I smiled, giving him a kiss.

"Nice place," he commented looking all around.

"I like to think so," I grinned as Sam came to wrap his arms around me. Dad gave Sam a manly handshake and went to sit down.

"So how's the house coming along?" Sue wondered, "I want a tour after dinner," she insisted. I smiled and nodded.

"Its good, great so far actually," I stated. "The guys have gotten a lot done. I'm still waiting for my front door though," I teased to Sam. He rolled his eyes, kissing me as he went to get some drinks for everyone.

"Most of the painting is done. Will helped with his guest room," I chuckled. "The only rooms we have left to paint is Sam and my bedroom and the upstairs loft area; besides that, all the painting is really done."

"How about furniture? Did you need help with that?" Sue offered. I chuckled while the two imprint girls grinned.

"Don't worry Sue, we got it all done," Sarah said. The older woman looked quite impressed.

"How about accessories? Décor?" Sue offered. I gave her an uncertain look. To be truthful I hadn't really thought of that.

"Perfect, I can do that," she smiled after reading my face. Everyone chuckled, knowing she wanted to be involved in this too. This was everyone's first for helping out with a Pack mate's house. Sam and I really were the first to buy a house together- especially from scratch.

"What can your old man do?" Charlie asked.

"Well…" I smiled, "I wanted to add some shelves, think you can help me put those together?" I wondered while eating. He nodded, looking over to where I could possibly put them.

"Don't worry Bella, I will supervise the guy. We all know what could happen if he was left alone to do a job," Uncle Billy teased. Charlie began lightly bantering with the old man, which caused us all to laugh.

After dinner, I gave my dad his instructions of how I wanted the shelves to be built and then I took Sue on a tour around the house. She helped me figure out what I would want to do for all the walls space and such.

"It's a beautiful home Sam," she smiled as he came to join us in the living room.

"Thank you Sue," he smirked, coming to hug me.

"Well Bella, I have some time tomorrow if you want to get together and hit some shops," she offered.

"Yea sounds great," I smiled.

"Perfect," she said. Giving us each a hug, she left us alone to do our own thing.

"Everyone leave?" I wondered. He nodded and kissed me slowly. "Just about."

"The door done?" I asked. Sam had been working on that all day. He was almost done when he forgot about the hinges and stuff. So he had to fix that or whatever.

"Yea almost," he said.

"Good," I smiled kissing him again. A throat cleared, interrupting us. With a sigh, we both pulled away and saw Jared. "Did you want me to help you finish up the door?"

Sam nodded, kissing me again before leading Jared to the front of the house. Glancing all around again, I felt proud to have my own house. It felt good.

Bouncing off, I grabbed my last few cans of paint and went upstairs to finish off the bedroom. I decided a nice grey color for our walls. It sounds boring but with the molding and our dark wooden floors, it fit perfectly. The girls had already picked a bunch of accessories and a rug for our room too so I knew everything would come together well.

Opening the cans, I began swirling the wooden stick around and getting ready to paint. It was maybe 45 minutes later when Sam joined me upstairs.

"Hi," I smiled as he grabbed my waist and began kissing my shoulder. "Sam," I laughed while squirming away. He was pecking little kisses all over me that tickled.

"Okay," I laughed again as he continued. Turning in his arms, I laid a hand on his cheek and reached up to kiss him softly.

"This really happening?" I wondered, "Cause you know, all these paint fumes…"

He rolled his eyes at my silly antics and kissed me again, "yea baby, its really happening."

"Wanna help me finish our room?" I asked after a while. Nodding, he leaned down to kiss my lips again and then grabbed himself a brush.


	18. Chapter 18

We went downstairs hours later, finishing all the paint cans for the bedroom.

"Sam," I breathed, looking at the grid glass doors. They were amazing. Two big doors, each with handles to open like a ballroom would.

"Its amazing," I spoke spinning around to look at him. Melting like silly putty, I hung my arms around his shoulders and thanked the heavens for such an amazing guy.

"I want this to be your dream house," he murmured to me in that deep caring voice of his.

"It is," I smiled overly emotional. Sam's thumb came up and wiped away my tears.

"Thank you for loving me," I whispered as I laid my head on his chest.

* * *

><p>It was days later when Sam and I finally got to move in. The décor was all set thanks to Sue, the girls had schedule dates for the furniture to be moved in and set up, and our house was finally running smoothly. I had just finished making another batch of blueberry muffins when Seth came into the house.<p>

"Hey you, haven't seen you in a while," I smiled to the Clearwater. Seth gave me a small smile and sat on the stool near the counter.

"What's up?" I asked puzzled with his mood. He sighed and looked up at me. Before he could speak, Sam came trotting downstairs, getting ready for his patrol.

"Hey," he said giving me a quick kiss. "Seth," he acknowledged. "Bells, I'm leaving. See you in a few hours."

"Okay, bye," I smiled enjoying his kiss against my cheek one last time. After Sam took off, I turned back to Seth. "So what can I do for you?" I wondered while putting things away.

"Just stopped by to say hi- nothing big," he shrugged. "That's cool. I have some muffins about done in the oven. If you stick around long enough you can be the first to have some," I smiled trying to uplift his spirits.

Watching him nod, I continued to sneak glances at the troubled kid. Something was definitely off but I wasn't sure what.

"What's it like to be an imprint?" he randomly asked after a while. I stopped what I was doing, tilting my head to the side wondering what he meant.

"Is it really like all of the guys' think? Are you really that connected?" he wondered. Sighing, I dropped my dishtowel and went back over to him. Sliding my forearms onto the countertop, I waited for him to look at me.

"Where are you going with this Seth?"

"I-…." He sighed, almost seemingly in tears, "I can't help but wonder if imprinting will ever happen to me."

"Why are worried about it?" I asked feeling for the poor guy.

"I see it everyday Bella," he said. "With Jared and Kim, Sarah and Jake, Quil and Claire. Hell, I especially see it with Embry and Andrea," he spoke exasperated, "even Sam sometimes slips up and thinks about you."

"Are you…jealous?" I asked confused.

"Hell yea," he said, "but not in the angry way. I'm just fed up. I want to know so badly if it will ever happen to me," he spoke. Setting his head in his hands, he continued to vent. "All the guys think that it's this miracle- one of the greatest things ever. They have a connection to their mate like nobody else. And it sucks. We are told over and over again that it doesn't happen with everyone and the process is rare but Bella, how can it be rare if 5 out of the 10 guys have imprinted? That's quite a lot right?" he asked.

I sighed, unsure what to say. "I hate it. I hate imprinting," he said. "I never understood why Paul could be so against it- it brought you to your one true love, but now I see why. It's because the possibility of it happening kills you. I watch Leah and Cole together and wonder half the time if they are truly meant to be together. I want to warn my sister not to get too close to him incase she ever finds someone, but I think she already knows that," he whined.

"Seth," I said putting a gentle hand on his arm. "I'm not sure what to tell you."

"No one does," he grumbled with lost hope.

"To be truthful, I'm partially in the same boat with you- I don't like imprinting."

"But you're an imprint," he said staring at me confused.

"That I am," I stated, checking on my muffins.

"Why don't you like it?" he wondered watching me.

"Because I feel like it does more harm than good," I admitted while putting on some oven mitts to grab my food. "It makes the wolf and his or her mate so connected to each other its unhealthy," I spoke.

"Does Sam feel that way?" Seth wondered.

"Doubt it," I said shoving the tin on the counter, "he's always a little more positive and optimistic about that whole thing than I am."

Seth stared out into the woods thinking everything over.

"I'll let you in on a little secret," I said coming to sit on the stool next to him, "when I first met Sam and he told me about imprinting, I was going to give it a chance- but then Emily happened," I admitted.

"And you thought they should be together," Seth clarified. I shrugged, "well he was with her for a reason right? He had to see something in her before meeting me."

"Truth be told, we don't know why he kept her around," the Clearwater said flatly, "she wasn't really all that nice."

Smirking, I bumped shoulders with his, "probably wasn't a very good cook either huh?"

"Never as good as you," he brightened. Giggling, I watched his mood fade back into seriousness.

"Anyways, we all know I gave into the loaded passion," I sighed, "and then after everything, we all lost Sam," I said skipping to the somewhat present, "and I think it was then that I really hated imprinting. I mean, I always doubted it in some way and felt like it was just too good to be true, but as Sam left and came back into my life, I realized how much I really did dislike it," I admitted.

"Then why'd you let him mark you?" Seth questioned.

"We both needed it," I conclude, "and even if that sounds lame, I would never regret it," I spoke.

"I don't get it," he said, "you hate imprinting yet you go along with it? You even accept it even more by letting Sam mark you and move into this house," he stated.

"Seth, imprinting is strong," I said clasping my hands together. "The harder you pull away from it, the more bothersome and strong it comes back at you," I spoke trying to get him to understand.

"It's almost like a magnet," I said watching him try to comprehend it all. "And with being imprinted to Sam, its even stronger. He's alpha. Not only does that make him territorial and possessive but he's also older."

"How does age make a difference in anything?" Seth wondered confused.

"It does with Quil and Claire," I said, "and I think it does with me and Sam. Quil can only be Claire's friend right now. She is too young to start a life with him and become a true mate to his wolf."

"Yea, I get that, she's too young to have sex and all…" he said still confused. I chuckled at the blunt statement but nodded nonetheless.

"And Sam's old. He's ready for that settling down type of life. He wants kids, a house, a family, and that's something I wasn't ready for- I'm not sure if I'm still ready for yet," I admitted.

"Bella, but why does this make you hate imprinting?" he asked getting me straight to the topic at hand. I think he was looking for a blunt answer, but I wasn't sure how to compile everything in my life to tell him.

"It takes away your freedom of choice, that's for one," I spoke. "When Sam first imprinted on me I hated it because I didn't have a say in the matter."

"He could have been like your brother," Seth pitched.

"Please," I said rolling my eyes, "like that would have gone over. Has anyone in the history of ever being imprinted on set aside a man to just be friends with him? Unless their hands were tied behind their back or that was their last resort than sure, but there is no way in hell, I could have ever pushed Sam just into the friend/family category. The imprint makes that too hard to do- a reason #2 to hate it," I said.

"Why else?" Seth asked.

"Sam and I get too dependent on each other- it makes me sick sometimes. I worry over it a lot," I admitted.

"Number three," Seth categorized. I nodded. "We can never leave each other's side for too long and we crave each other's affection."

"But you did it when he was in coma," Seth pitched.

"And you don't think that wasn't hard?" I asked. "That was like…trying to run through quick sand. Every little thing was pulling me down."

I sighed, "when Sam came back, I'm telling you right now, I couldn't let him go. I swear, if that man left my sight even for a second- hell even when he was still standing right there in front of me -I was fearing he would be a dream and leave."

Staring at Seth, I made sure to get his attention, "I cant live without Sam. Literally."

"I guess imprinting really isn't that good then," he concluded. I sighed again, "Seth, I could give you a million reasons why I disagree with imprinting, but I'm not sure that's why you came here."

"Do you think it will ever happen to me?" he wondered.

"Do you want it to?" I countered. He shrugged.

"The feelings Sam and I have with each other…they sometimes make me worried that they aren't real. That it's a force pulling us even closer together," I admitted again. "I will acknowledge that without the imprint things could have been really different. Sam might not have fought for me like he did while being with Emily. And I know for a fact that I would have let him go, no matter how attracted I might have been to him."

"So, I'm thankful for the imprint in that way," I shrugged trying to give him both perspectives to the story. "But…sometimes we just get so attached with each other; and sometimes I think that he is such a wonderful guy, how could he want to be with me? **Why** would he want to be with me? What does he see in me that I can't see?"

"Bells," Seth said now feeling bad for going through my personal life. I shook my head getting all my thoughts back in order. "When Sam came out of a coma I needed him, it was as simple as that. I needed his mark because we needed to feel each other, closer than just touching. And overtime, I learned how much my heart loves him. Every fiber in my being tells me I'm in love him- I _**fell**_ in love with him," I smiled. "But my heart wouldn't and couldn't be able to take it if he was to leave again. The imprint makes us feel so deep that we can never move on to another person- it makes us somewhat weak in that way."

Seth's brows furrowed and I put a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, imprinting is great, I love Sam and feel so many great things when I'm with him, but at the same time imprinting has it's downfalls. It's not always as perfect and heartfelt as it seems. You need to look at it closely and stop letting it hold you back. Whatever happens happens and as Sam keeps telling me 'everything happens for a reason'. But you have to believe it Seth. No one can make up your mind about whether imprint is a good thing or not. Wish it away or wish for it, it doesn't matter. You can't let it hold you back and making you stop living life."

"I'm just afraid to open up to somebody and then having to let them go," he admitted. My heart sunk a bit, knowing he was afraid of the Sam and Bella scenario.

"That may never happen if you never have anyone Seth," I spoke. Getting up, I pulled the muffins from their tin and handed him two. "There are ups and downs to imprinting. Both affect the wolf and the imprint. I guess it just depends how you look at it," I stated.

"Thanks Bella," he murmured after a while.

"Anytime," I smiled, still worried about the youngster.

A few hours later Sam shuffled in with some of the boys. Seth had left a few minutes ago still somewhat sullen.

"Hey," I smiled as Sam wrapped his arms around me.

"Boys, save some for others," I warned as I set some muffins in front of them. Immediately they dove for the food, scarfing them up like they haven't eaten in days. Giving Sam a quick kiss, I left his arms and finished up my grocery list.

"Okay, I'm going to the store, anyone need anything?" I wondered with keys in hand.

"More muffins?" Embry smiled at me. Rolling my eyes, I laughed. I had already made four dozen today.

"Be careful okay?" Sam asked me before I could slip away.

"Of course," I smiled, leaning in to kiss him, "love you."

"Love you more," he told me before retracting his arms. Now rolling my eyes at his words, I walked out of the doorway and down the front steps of my house.

"Bella," Leah said coming up to me.

"Hey the boys and Sam are in the kitchen with muffins if you want some," I said opening up my car door.

"Actually, I came here to talk to you," she said.

"Well I'm going to the store, did you want join me?" I asked wondering what she could need me for. Balancing out her options in her head she nodded to me and went to get in my truck.

"So what can I do for you?" I wondered while backing up my car.

"I wanted to talk about Seth, I'm worried about him," she said. I formed my lips into an 'O', knowing exactly what was on Seth's mind.

"It has to do with imprinting, I know," she said glancing over at me. "He wont tell me everything, but I know he's worried if it will ever happen to him."

"He came to talk to me today," I spoke, "earlier this morning when Sam went on patrol."

"So that's where he was," Leah said thoughtfully. "Is he okay?" she wondered.

"He's…trying to figure things out," I said carefully with my eyes on the road.

"Bella, you would tell me if something was really wrong right? I'm worried about my little brother," she said.

I sighed, "Leah, I don't know what to say. You're right, he is worried about ever imprinting, and he's also trying to figure out if it's a good thing or not."

"Why?" she wondered. I shrugged, "maybe he thinks that if he hates it, it will help him cope."

"Will it?" she asked. "It did for me," I said, "for a little while anyways."

She nodded, knowing exactly what I meant. When I had gone through that period of pushing away the imprint I just kept acknowledging that I didn't believe in that supernatural doing. It lessened the pain a bit.

"I wish I could help him," she sighed while leaning against the window, "I don't know what to do."

"Give him time," I said, "there's nothing any of us can really do except answer his questions and show him both sides to it." Sneaking glances at her ever so often, I noticed how tense she was and sad like her brother.

"It's so unfair," she said after a few minutes of silence. "We lose our dad and turn into wolves. Then we have to watch half our Pack imprint and be in love," Leah said. I quickly parked and shut off my car. "It's like the gods hate us," she said looking down at her hands now. "They take everything from our family and then just dangle the imprinting situation in front of our faces."

I sat there watching her, unsure what to say.

"Whatever," Leah said brushing off the situation. Getting out of the car, I followed her actions and went into the store.

"Do you like it?" she said after a few minutes of lugging the cart around. Turning to her, I raised an eyebrow at her random and unspecific question. "Do you like imprinting?"

"I'm not a fan of it no," I said repeating my words that I told Seth.

"But it brought you and Sam together," she said confused. I sighed and stopped my cart to look at her. "I'll tell you what I told your brother. I don't agree with imprinting. I think it does more bad than good. And although it brought us together, it hurt people in the process."

"People like Emily," she said quietly.

"Yea, like her," I sighed turning back to the shelves.

"What else did you tell Seth?" she wondered. I bit my lip and grabbed a few needed things. "I gave him what I thought were the good and bad things of the supernatural doing. I told him why I didn't like imprinting and reasons for doing what I did."

"Explain everything to me Bella, please," she asked.

Sighing, I turned back to look at her and felt guilty. Did Seth really want me telling her? "He wanted to know why I hated imprinting- I said it was because it made Sam and I too dependent on each other. I also said it was because I didn't have a choice in the fact. There were numerous things I listed off."

Before Leah could go pleading to me again, I caught her stare and looked at her straight in the eye. "Look, I am a big believer in the fairytale."

"You're living the fairytale- imprinting is the fairytale," Leah stated before I could go any farther.

I rolled my eyes, "fine, then I am a big believer in the old traditional tales of falling in love. No supernatural creatures or doing or even a world of craziness. I believe that you meet a person and can eventually fall in love with them. You take in their bad qualities with the good and accept the person for whoever they are."

"But…" Leah said waiting for me to say more.

"There is no but. That's what I believe."

"Well then I will say the but. But, you were imprinted on. And that changes things."

"Does it really?" I asked her. "I mean sure, Sam fought for me harder and we had a lot to overcome with the whole Emily thing, but I still like to believe that we fell in love with each other. Yes some variables changed like the fighting factor and personal space, but I still love the man for who he is- imprint or not."

Leah went quiet, staring at the ground.

"Look Leah, I know you aren't just here for Seth. You're in the same situation as he is," I said, "and its great that you're worried for your brother- you're a great sister in that way- but you're hurting too. And I can't have you standing here with me when you are lying about that. You really want to know more about imprinting and get your questions answered? Then ask me yourself," I said gently.

"Cole asked me to meet his parents and move in with him," she confessed as we walked down a few more aisles in silence. Surprised, I turned back to her and she had tears in her eyes.

"I know right? That's why we got into a huge fight in the first place and went on a break," she admitted. "He said that he met my family numerous times but I couldn't reciprocate? I had given lame excuses and he was tired of it. He admitted he wanted a future with me and I freaked."

"But you got back together with him," I stated still somewhat surprised.

"Because I set my crazy emotions aside of imprinting and decided I really did like him. He no longer pushed on the topic of meeting his family and things were great."

"But they aren't anymore," I said reading the anguish on her face.

"He asked again, this time being so sweet and caring. Instead of getting mad at me, he sat there and wanted to know why I was so hesitant on taking a step forward with him."

"Leah, what do want? What are you going to do?" I wondered as sweet as I could.

"Is it the right thing to do to take a step forward with him? I swear I love the man Bella, but I am so afraid. I'm terrified if I end up going to the store or go out shopping one day and see the man I am meant to be with," she said. My eyebrows furrowed a bit, wondering what I could tell the girl.

"I think that…if you feel like you really love him, you can't hold back- it's not fair to Cole or yourself. If the day ever comes- and I mean if- then you deal with it then. Too many good things- great opportunities- may pass you by if you keep waiting for imprinting to happen."

"So you think its okay to…be with him?" she wondered still teary eyed.

"I think its great. You shouldn't feel bad or scared because what happens happens. It's not really in your control; you're just there along for the ride."

Pulling her by the arm, I dragged her sad butt up beside me and bumped shoulders with her. She let out a soft laugh, which made me smile. "You're going to be okay, I promise."

"Thanks Bella," she said as we pushed the car together.

"Anytime Leah," I smiled as we finished up.

* * *

><p>When I pulled back into the driveway, Leah slipped out of the car and helped me with the groceries. Sam must have been off somewhere since the two large doors to our front house were now closed. Slipping a key in the lock, I quickly turned it and set everything down in the house.<p>

"Want to call Seth? The three of us can go to the diner," I said as we set the last of the bags down.

"Yea, sounds good," she said walking over to the phone. After putting everything away, we met Seth at the diner. He had cheered up considerably since I had seen him earlier and dinner was actually carefree and fun.

"Seth, I am going to move in with Cole," Leah said finally taking her brother's hand as we walked out to the parking lot. Seth was shocked beyond reason. "He asked you?"

"Yea," she breathed with a small smile.

"And that's it? What about the possibility of imprinting?" he wondered.

She shrugged, "I can't wait around for it forever. If it ever happens, I'll deal with it then," she said softly. We could tell he was hurting. As he stood there struggling for control of his thoughts, Leah and I shot each other a sympathetic look.

"Look, I know you're frustrated with imprinting," Leah said taking a step towards her brother.

"You have no idea," he said.

"Yes I do," she said strongly.

"No! You don't! You made up your mind. You're moving in with Cole. You have no idea how I feel!" Seth yelled in anger

"Seth," I said softly. He just glanced over at me with tears in his eyes.

"I hate this Bella. I hate feeling like I can't move on," he said to me. Leah took his hand and squeezed it tight. "I can't tell you how to feel," she said, "but just know I'm here for you." Leah put her forehead against her brothers and waited for him to calm down.

"I want it. I want it so bad, no matter the downfalls," he cried to her. She nodded and held him tight against. The sight brought tears to my eyes as my heart fell. We knew what he meant and there was nothing we could do to alleviate the pain until he met someone.

"It will happen," Leah, said to her brother, "one day, it will happen to you."

Nodding to her softly, he continued to cry in her shoulder.

* * *

><p>Later that night when I finally removed myself Leah and Seth's presence, I went home and found Sam getting ready for bed.<p>

"Hey," I smiled kissing him softly as he brushed his teeth. "Where were you?"

"Jake's. I left you a note on the fridge, I thought you would be stopping by," he said glancing over at me as I got ready for a shower.

"Oh, I must not have seen it," I said slipping by him.

"Everything okay?" he wondered as I grabbed a towel and clean clothes.

"Yea, long day," I breathed in exhaustion. He caught my wrist as I set the stuff on the toilet seat cover.

"Love you," he said glancing between my lips and eyes.

"Love you too," I whispered, giving him a quick peck before stripping to take a shower.

It was around midnight, just an hour later, when I stepping out of the bathroom. I slipped on my clothes after the shower, dried my hair a bit and rubbed lotion all over my body.

Most of my time today was with Leah and Seth. After the parking lot situation, we went to go to the park, grab an ice cream, and talk some more. Seth was really feeling beat up about the whole imprinting thing, which made Leah falter in her situations. I felt like I was mediating both at the same time. I pushed to Leah that what she was doing with Cole was great, and she really needed to peruse him, while I helped Seth calm down and helped him face the part where he needed to get a grip over himself. It was going to be hard yes, and he needed to cope with that.

Sam was already lying in our bed, tucked in the sheets waiting for me. Turning off the lights, I let out a tired breath and laid in our bed thinking over everything.

"Hey Sam?" I asked, getting more comfortable with my head on his chest and shoulder.

"Yea baby?" he wondered gruffly as his hand snaked around me.

"Why did you fall in love with me?" I wondered adjusting myself again. "I mean, I know the imprint, but I guess… what made you fall in love with me? What made me so different that you wanted to fight for me?"

He nuzzled his head a bit into the top of my head and started drawing patterns on my skin. "What's going on Bella?" he asked with his eyes still shut.

"Nothing, I just want to know," I said trying to be as innocent as possible.

"I love you cause you're you," he said with a hum and a kiss to my forehead. My eyebrows furrowed, not looking for that answer. Knowing he was tired from running extra patrols and hanging out with the guys today, I let it go and snuggled in his chest. Running my fingertips over his skin, I continued to be bothered by all my thoughts- why did he really fall in love with me? Was it the imprint? Was he just in it because of that? Was I wrong about everything?

Everything was buzzing in my head, making me stay awake till the earliest of the mornings. Sam was dead asleep just a few minutes after my questions but I couldn't fall into my slumber till around 3am. It didn't help either when I woke up at 6am, not being able to fall back asleep. Slipping out of bed, I padded downstairs starting the coffee.

It wasn't that all of this imprint talk had me questioning my relationship with Sam- or maybe it did, I wasn't sure. Something about it was bothering me and Sam's answer wasn't a big help either. Going back upstairs with a cup in hand, I stood on the balcony of our room and watched the world go by.

It was calming to see the trees move in the wind and the birds fly. It actually looked like it was going to be a sunny day today.

"Hey," a deep voice said wrapping around the back of my waist.

"Hi," I breathed with a small forced smile.

Handing him my cup of coffee, he took a sip and nuzzled into me. My body was a bit stiff and I wondered why. With Sam it was always mellow and relaxed, but today it wasn't.

"Is this about last night?" he questioned staring over at me. I blinked a few times snapping out of my thoughts. "What?"

"Did something happen last night? Seth bother you?" he asked, questioning me like it was an interrogation.

"Huh? No, why would he do that?" I wondered looking back at him.

"You don't seem too happy with me today," he noticed. I sighed. _Well maybe if you didn't blow me off last night, _I thought in my head.

"No, everything is fine," I said softly and went to walk away.

"Don't give me that," he said catching my arm.

"There's nothing going on Sam," I said. "I don't know what you want."

"The truth," he said expectantly. I rolled my eyes getting frustrated. He was being all alpha with me.

Pushing my crankiness to the side, I gave him a look, "that is the truth. Nothing is the matter." Softly taking my arm out of his grip, I slipped away to our closet, and began looking through all the clothes to see what was good to wear. Pulling out a pair of blue jean shorts, a tank and a short sleeve jacket, I walked into the bathroom and locked the door.

Sighing to myself, I went over to the counter. I was low on sleep and frustrated; neither of those things mixed well with me. But in my defense I hated when Sam goes all Alpha on me. He knows I hate it too and with his expectant cocky attitude, it had me wanting to flip him the bird.

Changing, I messed with my hair in the mirror and then grabbed some jewelry. Sticking with a long necklace and some earrings, I pulled on my boots that I had brought into the bathroom with me and then applied some makeup.

Maybe I would go to Jake's today…or maybe the Cullens. I hadn't had the opportunity to make music and I knew Pete was ready to sign me back up for it. Shrugging, I glanced at my appearance one last time before unlocking the door and moving to go downstairs. Our bedroom was empty so I was guessing Sam was already in the kitchen on the hunt for some food.

"Bella," Sam said watching me as I came downstairs.

"I'll be out today, running errands and such," I said putting my empty cup on the counter and shoving things in my purse. Grabbing the keys, I made sure I had everything before taking off.

"Can we talk about what's going on?" he asked me as I rushed to get away from him.

"There's nothing wrong," I said as gently as possible with a hand to his cheek. Flashing him a small smile, I left his grip and walked away.

"Hey!" he called as I made it to the steps. I forcefully turned to look at him and found him staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll see you later," I said forcing a smile as I tried to hide whatever I was feeling. Walking down the rest of the way, I got in my truck and left.

* * *

><p>Pulling up to the mansion, I got out of my car and locked the doors. Within minutes I was in their house sucking in a surprised breath. I hadn't been here since Sam was in a coma. Just right upstairs he in the bedroom on the right he was sleeping.<p>

Shaking the emotions, I went back to being frustrated with myself and my boyfriend while marching straight into the music studio. I sat my things down and went straight to the piano. Staring at the black and white keys, I found I had too much frustration inside of me though so I moved to the drums. Grabbing the sticks, I began pounding on the instrument, not caring if the beats sounded like total ruckus.

When I was done venting my emotions, I sat there in silence, letting my ears ring. My anger and aggravation wasn't towards Sam. Sure, maybe it was his stupid answer to why he fell in love with me that had me on edge a bit, but it was also the sad thoughts of Leah and Seth. I truly felt sorry for them and the predicament they were in.

Feeling exasperated, I moved back to the piano and grabbed a pen and pad of paper. Nothing came to me for a long time. I sat there playing random keys on the piano but no inspiration hit me what so ever.

Music came from the soul- and the heart. It was connected to thoughts and emotions in perfect harmony. So what was blocking me? I had so much to say. I hadn't written music since I came back from LA. There was so many things I could express in words that I felt, but why couldn't I communicate it? Groaning, I put my head on the piano top, knowing somewhat of what I had to do.

I knew a place where emotions in me would stir up. It was right here too, but was I ready to feel all those things again? My heart wasn't heavy when I didn't think about it.

Huffing, I got up, taking my pad of paper, pen, and violin with me and moved to go upstairs. There was that one bedroom that had me haunted. The door was shut and it almost seemed eerie to go into. Holding onto the knob, I turned it slowly and let the sight take away my breath again. The medical supplies were all there. The IV was still hanging up, and the sheets were skewed. Everything I had taken into account was making my heart clench in pain. My knees hit the ground and I panted in agony.

It was about time I felt something. I had pushed it away from the time Sam left me. I took my chances of not feeling anything by going catatonic, and then I pushed away my pain when Rose said I had to be strong. About the whole time Sam had been gone, I pushed everything away and fueled myself by helping Paul with his arrival with Liam and then my life in LA. I barely made myself cope with the fact that my mate was temporarily gone.

Of course, I had once felt this pain when Sam came back, and when I was with him at his place, but after that, I had pushed it away again and kept myself busy with something else (working on our house for example).

Maybe that's why I hadn't written anything in a while. I was blocking everything out since I came here and was with Sam. I wanted everything to be that happy life, when in reality, I needed to face my past and the things that got me here.

Sitting on the dresser, which faced the bed, I let myself mourn and cope for a little while. From there, I sucked up my sniffles and turned to my pad of paper and violin. It was weird how much came to mind then. I put the instrument to my chin and moved the bow across the strings. A sweet sad and slow melody came out.

_**("What Hurts The Most" by Rascal Flatts)**_

_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house_  
><em>That don't bother me<em>  
><em>I can take a few tears now and then and just let 'em out<em>  
><em>I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while even though<em>  
><em>Goin' on with you gone still upsets me<em>  
><em>There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay<em>  
><em>But that's not what gets me<em>

_What hurts the most_  
><em>Was being so close<em>  
><em>And havin' so much to say<em>  
><em>And watchin' you walk away<em>  
><em>And never knowin'<em>  
><em>What could've been<em>  
><em>And not seein' that lovin' you<em>  
><em>Is what I was tryin' to do<em>  
><em>It's hard to deal with the pain of losin' you everywhere I go<em>  
><em>But I'm doin' it<em>  
><em>It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone<em>  
><em>Still harder gettin' up, gettin' dressed, livin' with this regret<em>  
><em>But I know if I could do it over<em>  
><em>I would trade, give away all the words that I saved in my heart<em>  
><em>That I left unspoken<em>  
><em>What hurts the most<em>  
><em>Is being so close<em>  
><em>And havin' so much to say<em>  
><em>(Much to say)<em>  
><em>And watchin' you walk away<em>  
><em>And never knowin'<em>  
><em>What could've been<em>  
><em>And not seein' that lovin' you<em>  
><em>Is what I was tryin' to do, oh<em>  
><em>Oh yeah<em>  
><em>What hurts the most<em>  
><em>Was being so close<em>  
><em>And havin' so much to say<em>  
><em>(To say)<em>  
><em>And watchin' you walk away<em>  
><em>And never knowin'<em>  
><em>What could've been<em>  
><em>And not seein' that lovin' you<em>  
><em>Is what I was tryin' to do<em>  
><em>Not seein' that lovin' you<em>  
><em>That's what I was trying to do, ooo<em>

I set down the violin and wrote a few more lyrics before getting tired again. All of this emotional crap was getting to me- especially after only running on three hours of sleep.

"I fell in love with you because of your independence," a voice spoke. Snapping my head up, I found Sam in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in a somewhat raspy voice.

"Came to find you," He answered simply. "Where did you learn to play violin?"

"LA," I said hopping down off the dresser, "I picked up a few tricks there." Shuffling to get my things, I made it to the doorway, only to be stopped by Sam.

"What has been going on with you today?" he wondered.

"I'm tired," I sighed, "it's been a busy week."

"I know," he said referring to the house getting done. I spent a lot of time painting, moving things in, and shopping with Sue. "But will you tell me what else is going on? Why you're in here maybe?" he asked gently.

"I'm writing," I explained.

"But why in here?" he prodded.

"Because I can let myself feel in here," I admitted with a hand running over my tired face. Glancing up to him with a swallow, I tried to give him my best smile, but I'm pretty sure it came out as a grimace. "I just need to deal with what happened," I whispered while letting down my walls.

"Haven't you been doing that?" he wondered confused.

"No, not really," I admitted.

"Bella…what-"

"Sam, really, everything is okay," I summed up tiredly.

"No its not, stop saying that," he said. Feeling a twinge of anger, I shut my eyes briefly and pulled myself together as best as I could. I didn't feel like having an argument. There was a lot that could be said that I would end up regretting and I felt too emotionally raw and tired to be doing this now.

"Stop it Bella," Sam sighed, "I hate when you put up those walls," he said reading me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I huffed, looking up at him exhaustedly.

"Would you quit it?" he asked again, still displeased.

"Sam, I'm exhausted. I want to get out of here and just…write. Please, let's just leave it be for a while."

"Why?" he asked again.

"Because Sam," I said sounding like a mother telling her child to go do something but he wont.

"Bella," he started off again.

"Sam," I reprimanded, this time a bit firmer, "I really can't do this right now. Please, stop pushing. I'll talk to you about whatever you want later. But right now, I just want some peace."

"So you're torturing yourself by being in this room?" he pushed. I let out an angry groan and moved away from him.

"No, that's not what I'm doing. I came in here to work. I'm tired of shoving my emotions away. I just came up here to let it all in and then let it go."

"So talk to me," he pleaded.

"There is nothing to say," I whined as he stepped closer.

We stayed in a standstill for a bit before I found myself getting tired of the silence. I had enough crying and reminiscing on the past for one day and being in this room wasn't helping my composure. "Look, I know you love to push," I spoke, coming closer to him, "but today really isn't a good day for that. You aren't going to get anything out of me except a few angry shouts and maybe a harsh command to go away. Please, stop pushing, let me sleep or be by myself for a bit and then we can talk okay? It's not about you- you did nothing wrong. Just please, I really don't want us to end up in a fight tonight."

Using my soft words of wisdom instead of my true frustration that I really felt, I wrapped my arms around his waist and snuggled into his chest, trying to let everything all go with a breath.

His hand came up to my head, rubbing my hair as he comforted me. "Just promise me we'll talk," he murmured in the top of my head.

"Promise," I sighed in relief as I shut my eyes. Hugging him for a few more minutes, I let my emotions take control, forcing me to feel all of the love and passion he was showing me. With small kisses to my temple and hair, we pulled away and met with each other face to face softly.

"I love you," he said cupping my face in his hands.

"And I love you."

"Can I drive you home?" he pleaded staring into my tired eyes. Groaning, I pulled away my face away from his hands and gave in. Letting him take me away, we entwined our hands and shut the bedroom door.

"I have to put away this first," I said signaling to the instrument in my hand. After making a quick pit stop to my music room, Sam opened his arm for me and snuggled my body into his side as we left the mansion.


	19. Chapter 19

My boyfriend was still a perfect gentleman after all this time. Tossing him the keys from my bag, he kissed my cheek and stepped forward to open my side door. Sliding in, I waited for him to get in the car himself and drive us home.

* * *

><p>Some of the boys were already in our house when we arrived. They were playing Xbox in the living room or something.<p>

"Hey Bells, you're out of milk," Quil called.

"Great," I groaned setting my things on the table. I had just gone to the grocery store and he had finished off the huge jug already.

"I'll get more later," Sam said kissing my temple as he dragged us to go upstairs.

"Should we leave?" Jared called to us as we disappeared.

"Yes!" I called, knowing that they were thinking we were about to have sex- which we weren't, I would never allow them to be in the house when that was going on (even though the guys could see it in Sam's head if he let it slip-which he often times did). Either way, I wanted some alone time with that man, and that meant without the guys. As Sam heard them shuffle out, I flung myself on the bed and let out a long tired sigh.

"They're gone," he spoke after a bit. Coming to lay down with me, I curled up against him and did my best to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>It was around late afternoon when I woke up again. Sam was speaking hush on the phone outside on our balcony and the sun was shining against his skin.<p>

Curling up to a pillow, I watched him talk to whoever it was on the phone and smiled in content. Those stupid and annoying frustrations about life and imprinting had gone away, and now I was just in euphoria- oh what the wonderful things sleep could do.

As Sam shut his cell phone, I readjusted some more and waited for him to join me.

"Hey," I smiled as he came back into the room.

"Feeling better?" he wondered stalking over to me.

"Much," I answered leaning up for a kiss. "Who was on the phone?" I asked as we pulled away.

"Quil," he said lifting me up a bit to snuggle on top of him. "Everyone is going to the diner later- wanted to know if we were interesting in coming."

"What time do we have to be there?" I wondered.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to go," he said softly while running his hands through my hair.

"Why not?" I asked turning to face him.

"A lot's been going on," he spoke. I rolled my eyes, knowing the real meaning behind his words. "It's our family."

"Who would understand if we skipped for the night," he shrugged.

"Sam," I groaned, burying my face back into the pillow. He continued to rub my hair with his hands. "We can still go- I just wasn't sure if you were up for it."

"Okay, let me go get ready," I breathed getting up.

"Oh no," he said dragging me back to him.

"Hey! wha-"

"We need to talk about this morning- and last night," he added thoughtfully. I groaned inside my head wishing I never promised to talk it over with him.

"Come on," he said patting the pillow on his lap that I once laid on. Huffing, I returned to my spot and got cozy on my back.

"So…" he wondered after a few seconds of silence.

"I was sleep deprived. My actions can't be taken seriously since I was running on three hours of shut eye and a cup of caffeine," I chalked up simply.

"Bella," he said trying to be more serious. Groaning out loud this time, I turned my head and looked up at him.

"I really don't know what to say. I was tired and moody- but I'm not now."

"You don't get moody," he said.

"It's called PMS- every girl gets moody."

Rolling his eyes he brushed some more of my hair with his fingers.

"Why the imprinting question last night?"

I shrugged, "Seth and Leah are going through a rough time. They were asking questions about it and some popped into my head."

"Like why I love you?" he wondered skeptically.

"Well...it was more like why you _fell_ in love with me, but yes, essentially- that's what I wanted to know."

"What were they asking questions about?" he speculated. "They are wondering about us? Our relationship?"

"No not really," I told him while folding my hands over my stomach, "it was more just like them wondering if imprinting will ever happen to them. Seth was a little pushier with the topic, but it wasn't anything big. And Leah just felt a bit insecure- nothing I couldn't deal with."

"Pushy how?" he asked, slipping me that alpha voice as he picked up my words. Rolling my eyes, I reached up and stopped one of his hands playing with my hair. "Nothing to worry about- Seth just wanted to know some ups and downs of the whole imprinting mojo. He's really afraid to open up to someone and like them. He doesn't want anyone getting hurt."

Sam sighed, knowing the Emily situation just as well as me. "Did he say something to upset you?"

"Nope," I answered again, letting his hand go, "he just made me realize how lucky I was not to be a wolf and that I loved you with or without the imprint."

"Which," I huffed in continuation, "is why I wanted to know what made you fall in love with me. I knew my reasons for why I fell for you, but I never really took the time or thought of the insight of why you fell for me."

"That is…if you did fall for me," I said cautiously with my eyebrows furrowed after a pause of silence. He grasped my hand, which was lying back on my stomach and brought it up to kiss. "I fell for you- of course I did. A man would be crazy not to."

Rolling my eyes, I held back a small snort.

"I guess…there wasn't really one thing that sealed the deal for me," he said thoughtfully. "I just-…after imprinting and trying to get to know you better- which was hard to do especially when you kept pulling away," he commented with a small squeeze to my hand as he set it back down, "I found I loved you for you. It's cheesy and lame but I don't know how to explain it. You were independent, smart, stubborn, caring towards others more than yourself; you were loveable and sweet. You just-…were it for me. It was everything I pictured in a girl."

"Then why did you keep Emily around?" I wondered seriously. Seth brought up a good point. Emily wasn't the greatest.

"She wasn't always bad. Sure she wasn't the biggest fan of the guys, but not a lot of people are. They are a big Pack, one of the biggest in our La Push history. I couldn't blame her for that. Plus, she didn't really know much about us, other than that we were werewolves and I was the alpha."

"But you loved her right?" I asked. He hesitated, "I don't know if I loved her- its nothing like I love you."

"But that's because of the imprint," I explained.

"Is it?" he asked. "Who really knows what true love is like? There are no words to describe it. It's just a feeling. We all label it as love but we cant think of ways to describe the emotion. I could say I loved Emily, but I don't think that's true. There is nothing I can say to you that would explain how I feel when we're together, it's just how it is- and that's just what I call love."

Twiddling my thumbs, I thought about his words deeply. Yeah, I guess when you really were in love you couldn't explain it. It was just this feeling that caught your breath.

"I will say I liked her," he commented in our silence, "when I first met Emily she was really care free and we had fun. But as time went on, it faded away and nothing was like that anymore. She brought me down more than pulling me up."

"Do I do that to you?" I wondered craning my neck slightly to look at him thoughtfully, "we get frustrated at each other a lot."

"But isn't that a good thing?" he wondered, stopping his motions near my head to stare down at me, "Life isn't perfect and definitely doesn't run smooth; It's not fair and can hurt, but look at us. We make it through anyways."

"I just don't want to pull you down," I explained whole-heartedly.

"Never," he said with kind eyes, "I have, in no way, ever felt that way when I was with you."

"Even when I push you away?" I wondered.

"Not even then. I love it when I can finally get the truth out of you. It not only makes you feel better but me. You try to keep it all inside but you really don't have to. I'll always be here- you can trust me- but I understand that you have problems with that. Trust is a hard thing- especially in life."

"You read me well," I concluded.

"That's just another reason why we're meant to be," he said with a smile. "So why were you in that room at the Cullen's," he asked.

I shrugged and bit my lip, "that room held every emotion I bottled up for over a year. I guess I just wanted to face it before I pushed it away too far."

"That's it?" he wondered skeptically. I rolled my eyes and turned on my side. "I know you saw me in the boys' minds. I went catatonic and then pulled myself together with Paul. Then I took off for LA- and that's when I just went full on into my music. I barely slept, ate a few bites, and was always ahead of the ball. I pushed myself so hard and so much, that when you came back it just…it hit me again. And I started the cycle over. This house was another thing to keep me running."

"But," he prompted.

"Nothing, I wanted to start writing again. And I really couldn't get my heart in sync with my head. So I went up to the place that I thought would help me with that."

"You had me worried," he admitted.

"I told you not to," I said looking up at him, "I just wanted to face you were really here and I could let the emotions I had been holding up inside go."

"You could do that around me, you know," he spoke rubbing my hair.

"I know, but it's just easier to do it alone. I feel better that way," I explained.

"Why?" he wondered.

I shrugged, "I guess it's because I feel so weak. I hate that feeling. You're so strong all of the time; you barely have to depend on me, but me, I cant even go a week without some drama and falling apart."

"I don't mind you falling apart every once and a while Bella," Sam said softly, "I can take it. It shouldn't be something you are ashamed of doing. We can get through anything together."

"I know," I sighed, "but I just try to do it on my own- be independent and everything," I whispered softly. "Can we get ready now?"

"Yea," he said giving me a small smile. Propping myself up a bit, I gave him a kiss and went to get up. "Good. Now go call Quil, I'm in the mood for some eggs and toast."

With a nod and smile, he watched me get up and go to the bathroom before leaving the room himself. As I stood in the bathroom, I stared at myself in the mirror. I felt drained, yet at the same time I was at peace. Was that a weird combination? Did that even make any sense?

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair and pinned it up. Padding towards the shower, I turned the water on hot and waited for the water to heat up. Setting out my towels, I quickly stripped down and stepped under the stream, Letting out a breath of relaxation, I had everything around me keep me calm. Within those minutes of stepping in the shower and washing my hair, Sam had joined me. He hugged me by the waist, humming in approval at the scent of my shampoo.

"Hi," I smiled over my shoulder.

"Hey," he said in a deep voice while kissing my neck and shoulder. Turning in his arms, I had his lips meet mine- locking us into a long passionate make out session.

"I'm almost done in here, we can get out in a few," I said softly as we pulled away. With the tiniest nod, he watched me close as I finished showering. When we were both out of the steaming water, we went out separate ways to get ready.

Pulling my hair through the fluffy towel, I pulled out some sweatpants from the drawer and grabbed and a tee shirt too. Sliding each piece of clothing over my body, I glanced into the mirror and gave my boyfriend a quick kiss as I passed him to go put my towel away.

He was waiting for me to leave the room with him; all ready and dressed in a dark grey tee and a pair of shorts.

"Lets go," I smiled wrapping my arm around his waist. He grabbed the keys as we passed through the kitchen and we walked out hand in hand to the car.

Our ride to the diner was peacefully silent. The atmosphere was so much different than when we stepped into the diner. The place was chaotic and jam-packed.

"Hey," I smiled to everyone as we walked in. Charlie and Billy were here too, which surprised me a bit. Leaning down, I gave my dad a quick kiss and told everyone hello. I sat next to Leah, pulling up a chair watching everyone dig into their food.

"I met his parent's tomorrow," Leah said casually as she squirted ketchup on her plate. I raised eyebrow at her and thanked Sue as she came behind me with a water.

"I'm freaking out," she murmured. "Not only am I meeting his family tomorrow but he wants us to move into his place together- in Port Angeles," she said to me.

"That's…far," I said thinking of her loyalty to the Pack.

"I know," she said with a worried glance.

"Have you talked it over with anyone yet? Sam maybe?" I wondered to her.

"No, Cole just sprung it on me today. Now what? I tell him our secret?" she asked slightly fearful. I sighed and shrugged, it seemed to be coming down to that. Glancing over at Sam, I found him talking with Jake and Jared, but every so often sneaking peeks at me.

"Maybe it wont be as bad as you think," I murmured as I observed everyone.

"Right," she scoffed, "because everyone in their right mind would take that kind of news lightly. He isn't like one of the people on the Res Bella, he doesn't even know the legends."

I went to speak again but was surprised when a plate of scrambled eggs and white toast was placed in front of me. How did Sue know? Looking around, my eyes landed on Sam. With a laugh, I blushed a bit and knew it was his doing- always the listener. 'Thank you,' I mouthed to him. He gave me one of those pearly white smiles and a nod.

"I think you need to talk to the elders with this, and I also think that maybe you should talk everything over with Cole. Maybe for right now, you can move to Port Angeles and that way we can get him familiar with all of the stories. Then it will be a bit easier to tell him the truth," I said shoving some food in my mouth while turning back to Leah.

"Think that will really work?" she wondered.

"The guys picking up your slack? - Maybe, if you do a lot of groveling, convincing, and are super lucky. As for the bon fires, they could definitely happen. Everyone loves getting together. It shouldn't be a problem as long as you can get your man there and listen to them."

"I hate this," she grumbled.

"Hate what?" I asked shoving more food in my mouth.

"Worrying if he will accept me or not. It's scary."

"It's life," I said pretty bluntly.

"I don't want him to hate me," she said sadly.

"Hate is a strong word," I stated, "and even to fuel hate, it still means he cares. Honestly, I don't think he could do that to you. He may be mad, upset and most likely fearful, but I don't think he would hate you."

"You're getting my hopes up," she tried to joke.

"I'm telling the truth," I said with a supportive smile. "Not everyone reacts bad, but I'm telling you right now, space is good. When the time comes, don't cloud him as much as you really would like to- it's not the best solution."

"Right," she breathed staring at her food.

"Hey," I said nudging her, "you still have to talk to the elders first. How did your mom take it?" I wondered.

"Haven't really told anyone yet," she muttered.

"Not even Seth?" I wondered. She shook her head. I contemplated how that was going to work out- Leah moving to Port Angeles. It wasn't going to go over well.

As Leah and I finished our conversation, I found my dad picking one up with Sue. They seemed a lot closer than times before. I wondered when Charlie was really going to take a bigger step in the relationship.

* * *

><p>"Ready?" Paul wondered, waiting for me as I came out the bathroom. Shooting him a small smile and nod, I followed him out of the diner. A ways away in the parking lot I could see Leah talking to Sam, and by the looks of things it wasn't going to good. Billy was adding his two sense with the pair and it didn't seem to help any.<p>

"What's going on?" I cut in, coming outside, before Leah would do something she would regret.

"We can't tell him anything," she seethed at the men.

"Leah," Sam said cautiously. He gave Paul a look to pull me back a little bit, which he did.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"We can't tell Cole anything. Leah im sorry, but we can't go around flashing this off. It's supposed to be a secret. We have to keep it under wraps and he's not…" Billy trailed off.

"my imprint," Leah finished with a small shake.

I bit my lip and looked at the three. Sam looked guilty, Billy seemed stubborn about it and Leah just looked upset.

"Billy, we aren't asking to tell him the truth, we just want to get him familiar with the legends," I tried.

"And you don't think he will catch on Bella?" he asked me. I sighed.

"You know like I do that there is something different with these boys and telling him the tribal legends, I'm sure he will be a quick one to put the pieces together."

"But-" I tried again.

"It wont happen Bella," Billy said in a strict tone. Sam shot the elder a look, almost saying 'watch your tone' as he snapped at me. Grabbing Sam's hand, I held it in mine and tried to feel what he was feeling.

"I need to get out of here," Leah mumbled as Seth came out of the diner to join us. Nodding, I watched her run off and let my heart sink for the girl.

"It's not fair Billy, you know it," I spoke softly.

"There is no way I would be able to convince the other elders Bella, this is how it has to be," he spoke almost feeling guilty too.

"There has to be another way," Sam spoke up. "We need to at least try."

"Sam," Billy spoke in a tired tone.

Paul cleared his throat, which made us all look. Seth was standing near us, somewhat confused by what was going on.

"Has anyone seen my sister?" Seth wondered. Paul glanced over at us, I bit my lip, Sam sighed, and Billy looked away.

"I have to go get Liam from my mom's," Paul said excusing himself.

"Jake," Billy called, rolling his chair over to him so he could get away.

"Bella? Sam?" Seth wondered, still waiting for an answer.

"She um-…" Sam started with a hand on the back of his neck.

"She went out for a quick run. Something about stretching her legs and getting away from all the stress of everything," I said, hoping I wasn't really lying.

"Oh, okay," Seth said now a bit suspicious. "Is she okay though?" he thought before turning to walk off.

"Yea, she'll be fine," Sam said coming to hug me. Nodding, Seth flashed us a small smile and then went to go talk with Jared and Kim.

"Please tell me I just said the right thing," I pleaded.

"Yea baby, you did," he said kissing the side of my head. With a long sigh, I leaned into my boyfriend and wished things were just a bit different. This wasn't fair. Secret or not, Leah should have a right to tell her boyfriend.

Sam tugged on my hand and guided us to the car.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Billy is partially right," Sam sighed, driving away. I snapped my head away from the window over to look at him.

"What?"

"Come on Bells, you know its somewhat right," he said trying to ease the situation by taking my hand in his.

I sighed and leaned my head back against the seat. Thinking it over for a few minutes, I did come to the same conclusion- Cole would have figured it out easily.

"It's just not fair," I whined as we came to a slowing stop, pulling up to our house.

"I know baby," he said squeezing my hand one last time before getting out of the car.

"What do you think will happen to Seth when he finds out?" I wondered as we both came around the car.

"It's not going to be good," he said groaning a tad. He ran a hand over his face and I tucked myself into his side to ease his pain. Sam opened the front door for the two of us and I let out a pleasing sigh. It felt good to be home; like truly home.

"What?" Sam asked, coming behind me as I stood in the kitchen.

"Just thinking," I smiled as he snuggled into me.

"About what?" he asked kissing my neck a bit.

"Being home," I breathed.

"Do you consider this place your home? You like it right?" he wondered, tilting his head to look at me.

"I love it," I confessed, "this place is perfect and I love it, almost as much as I love you," I teased softly as I held his arms with mine.

"Good," he chirped, giving me a quick kiss before running his lips over my mark. A shiver passed through my body and I swore to myself, knowing I would never get used to that feeling.

**_A/N: Poor Leah =(_**  
><strong><em><span>Do you think she should be able to tell Cole the truth?<span>_**


	20. Chapter 20

**_A/N: So this was my mistake. its a new chapter replacing the old one, which was actually chapter 21. So for those readers who have stuck with me, you will see this note repeatedly on this chapter, the next and chapter 22. Sorry for the confusion but i hope you enjoy and review.  
>P.S. Short Chapter sorry!<br>_**

I was awoken by a huge sigh coming from the one I love. A small dip in the bed in an odd place made me wonder what was going on.

"Sam?" I asked, waking up a bit. Propping myself on my forearms, I lifted up the bunch of covers I had around me and tried to gather my bearings.

Not saying a word, he crawled over to me and held me close.

"What's going on?" I wondered as he just lay there holding me.

"Seth…" he spoke with some pain. Sucking in a breath, I knew the kid had found out. Snuggling closer to my mate, I wrapped my arms around his waist and tried to bring him as much comfort as I could.

He let out a harsh breath and just hugged me, every so often kissing my head.

"Are you okay?" I whispered after a while. His emotions and actions were worrying me a bit.

"I had to order him-…" Sam broke, "he was so mad and Leah she just…"

"Oh god, she had the meeting with his parents today," I groaned.

"Yea," he sighed.

"How did it go?" I wondered, hesitant on wanting to know the answer.

"Hard," he said, "they liked her, but when the situation of moving came in and the future discussion, she had a harder time to explain herself and meet the standards of what his parents wanted."

"Oh god," I said feeling horrible.

"She's okay though," he said nuzzling into me.

"And Seth with Billy? I'm sure he marched right over there," I said.

"That he did," Sam sighed again. Stretching my neck up to look at him, I slowly leaned forward and planted my lips to his.

"He went on a rampage Bella. I had never seen Seth so mad. Not only did I order him to stay away from Billy for the time being, but to get his act together and handle himself more maturely. I was harsh on the kid," he groaned. Feeling his guilt I kissed his bare chest and had him look at me.

"It's what you had to do. We may not agree with it fully but you needed to stop Seth from doing something stupid and protect Billy."

"I just-…you know," he said.

"I know," I repeated. He wanted the same thing as me. He wanted it to be different and let Leah tell Cole. We both wished it were easier on the two Clearwater's. It wasn't fair to them.

Lying with Sam, I stayed there trying to ease his pain.

"Do you ever think of our future?" Sam wondered, "I mean, do you ever think of it anymore?"

"Sometimes," I said hesitantly.

"What do you see?" he asked curiously.

"Why?"

"Well…we haven't really talked about the future since…you know," he reminded me. "Has anything changed for you? Have you wanted anything more?"

I furrowed my eyebrows a bit as I glanced up at him, "I've always wanted more, its just when the time was right, that was always the big deal for me," I said.

"So…marriage, kids, all that…it's in there for you right? The future I mean," he spoke.

"Yes," I said somewhat confused at what he was getting at.

"Can we talk about it, you know _our_ future? Like maybe start planning it?" he asked hesitantly.

"Okay."

With a small kiss to my nose, he waited for me to start.

"Marriage would probably come first," I said snuggling in his side further.

"When?" he cut in. I raised my eyebrow, "when we're ready."

"You know I am, but are you?" he wondered to me. Sighing, I bit my lip and tried to come up with the best answer that would make us both feel comfortable. "If I said I was, you wouldn't go off by proposing to me tomorrow would you?"

He looked down at me surprised and pulled me closer. "Maybe not tomorrow, but certainly the next day," he grinned. Letting out a small laugh, I shook my head and glanced up at him. "I'd like to think I'm ready but I don't want to rush it ya know?" I said lightly.

"But you said yes," he grinned, leaning down to kiss me. Rolling my eyes I shrugged, "yea, I guess I did."

Sam hummed in content, knowing that I was ready to marry him.

"Where would you want our honeymoon to be?"

"Somewhere warm," I commented.

"Like Florida? Or back to see your Aunt Betty?"

"Maybe," I said drawing patterns on his chest.

"What about kids?" Sam wondered. "You want some right?" he asked.

"I guess so," I said trying to think about it.

"How many?" he inquired.

"Maybe 2 or 3?" I said with a shrug.

"Boys or girls?" he asked again.

"Sam," I giggled, while finding all of these questions crazy. Twisting a bit, I propped myself up and stared at him, "can we just think about marriage before kids or anything else? For right now, I just want to be with you. I don't care if our children will be boys or girls and I don't care where we go. All I need is you in my life and for our future kids to be happy and healthy."

"You wouldn't mind if they had the wolf gene?" he wondered.

I titled my head to the side, not really expecting that. Those thoughts never really crossed my mind. And now I was wondering if I really did want them to carry that.

"Bella?" he called at my pause.

I tried to give a smile, but I really hadn't thought of that variable in the future. What we were going through right now really made me not want them to carry the gene- to have to suffer through the possibility of imprinting and phasing into a wolf. Did I really want to bring a kid into this kind of world?

Before we could get any further with our conversation, Sam's cell phone rang, which had him huffing. Sliding away from him, I sat up and tugged my hands through my hair.

"Yea," he said gruffly. Not being able to hear a response, I pulled the covers off myself and padded to the bathroom.

Boys or girls, they would both carry the wolf gene. There would then be a 50/50 chance for them to turn, and that would be counted on if vampires showed up or not. Sighing, I grabbed my toothbrush and squirted some toothpaste on there.

I didn't like that thought; I didn't want them to have those genes. But it was in Sam and there was nothing I could do about that. Spiting out the foam, I rinsed my mouth out and wiped it clean.

"That was Jared. He said that maybe if we calmed down Leah it would help calm down Seth."

"In other words I should go over there?' I wondered to him in the mirror.

"I don't want you to," he said.

"But I need to," I commented, knowing how everything was falling into place.

"Yea, you should," he sighed. Leah and Seth were both somewhat dangerous with their haywire emotions, which had Sam very cautious. They could phase with anything that might set them off and that worried him.

Nodding, I tore my eyes away from his body behind me and grabbed my brush from the drawer. Leah was having a girl problem and she was closest to me out of all the girls. Even though I didn't know what she was going through, it was her that always came to talk it out with me.

"I want to finish our conversation," Sam said stopping me as I went to leave the room.

"We can if you want, but later okay? Leah needs us right now," I said gently.

"But what about us?" He called as I slipped away from him to go pick out an outfit for the day. "We still come first Bells, I wont let that change," he said coming to stand against the doorway of our closet.

"It's not," I said browsing through some clothes, "but Sam," I said finding him upset, "kids are still in the future, we'll deal with it then," I smiled, wrapping my arms around his waist.

Sighing, he held me tight and gave a long kiss to the top of my head. My stomach sank a bit and I tried to push it away.

"I love you," I mumbled into his bare chest.

"I love you too baby, so much," he murmured.

From there, we finally separated and got dressed. While putting on my things, Sam made sure to go over what I should and shouldn't do. Don't go too close, be careful of what you say, try not to get her upset, don't try and help her if she starts trembling, call for him if I need something or if something goes wrong.

"Sam, okay, relax," I said stopping at the end of the stairs as I found he was fretting for nothing. I trusted Leah. Yes she was upset, but she would never hurt me.

"I can't believe I'm letting you do this baby," he sighed, coming to wrap his arms around me again.

"It will be okay," I said with more effort this time as I pushed away, "you need to relax."

"Come here," he somewhat growled, pulling me closer to him. Raising an eyebrow at him, I noticed how worried and possessive he was actually being. Nuzzling into my neck, I let out a soft moan and ran my hands through his dark choppy hair.

"Relax," I whispered again as his muscles were still tense. Hearing a small sigh, I kissed what I could reach of him and waited till he would pull away.

"Be careful today okay?" he said catching my eye.

"Of course," I smiled kissing his perfect lips. Catching my hand in his, we swung it between us and hopped in the car.

We pulled up at the Clearwater's house in a matter of minutes. Sam had a partial death grip on the wheel, which made me slightly worried for his well being and the car's.

Covering my hand on his, I entwined our fingers and helped him relax. We slid out of the car together; Sam having a cautious eye on me.

"I love you," I announced, spinning around, stopping to face him as he followed me in the house.

"But this is where I leave right?" he said reading my face. We were just a few feet from Leah's room.

"Yea baby, it is. Girl time and all…no ears," I reminded. He let out a half huff half growl and pulled me to him. Kissing my lips hard and possessively, I felt a small spark of arousal. Sam let out a small growl and bowed his head to kiss my mark. Taking in a small gasp, I bit my lip and tried my hardest to keep my composure.

"We'll finish this later," Sam growled in my ear.

"Can't wait," I said breathless as he held my hips against his.

Feeling a small nipping sensation on my ear, I slowly pushed him away and watched to make sure he would be far enough to leave. We both knew if I was in real danger Sam would feel it. A benefit of the mark I guess. As he walked out the door, I spun on heel and knocked for Leah.

"Don't wanna talk," the girl said with a muffled voice.

"Well I'm coming in anyways," I said turning the knob of the door and finding it unlocked.

"Hey," I breathed. She was sitting on her window ledge, a pillow on her chest, hugging it like it was the world. Taking a seat on her bed, I folded my legs up and watched her.

Leah's eyes became watery and she let out a sniffle.

"Come here, let it out," I said opening my arms. She let out her cry and moved to come hug me. I held her in my arms for a while, letting her take out all of her sadness and frustration with her tears. She was so broken, I felt so bad.

"I don't want them to hate me, it's his family," she hiccupped.

"They don't understand Leah, they don't actually hate you. Cole loves you too much to do that sort of thing," I amended.

"He took my side. He stuck up to the own people who raised him. I don't think I could ever do that. H-h-h-e is to-o…g-oo-d," she cried.

"Nah, he is just perfect for you," I said squeezing her tightly. "You would surely do the same for the guy if you in that position. You may not think so, but I believe if it ever came to that, you would. You're strong, you know what you want…it would go down the same way," I spoke.

"I don't know if I can do it anymore Bella, maybe I shouldn't move with him," she said looking up at me with tear stained cheeks.

"You're halfway packed," I said taking notice to her room, "don't let him down. You guys just got past a bump in the road, it happens. And I know you want to do this, you like him. Throw that imprinting shit out the window," I guided.

"But…he won't-…we just can't Bella. What Billy said and the legends, he's right. And I-…"

"Okay, calm down," I said swaying a bit to get her to relax. She was trembling just the slightest.

"Leah, I'm telling you right now, as the Alpha's mate, you will move in with Cole. Take it as a request or an order- I can make it official with Sam if you want, but you are moving to Port Angeles. We will sort out how we are going to get him to figure you're a wolf later, right now, just please focus on what you have in front of you."

"It feels so unfair- to the boys and me," she complained.

"It is," I said truthfully, "It's unfair you can't tell your boyfriend your true self, and it's unfair that Seth is torn up about it with so much on his mind already. But as for the rest of the Pack…they get it. They can pick your shifts up for the time being Leah, it won't kill them and I know they won't mind. Sam and I will figure something out to make it fair and things will go back to running smoothly. All we need is a bit of time and confidence. You have to believe in that," I said rubbing her hair.

"I owe you all so much," she sniffled.

"You don't owe us anything. We are family, this is what we do," I smiled. She continued to lay with her head on my lap, thinking about everything. "He's a great guy," she whispered, talking about Cole after a while, " I could really see myself with him."

"That's why you are going to finish packing up everything and get to it. Call him, text him, I don't care. But I want you to get going with your life. It's all in front of you. Screw his parents, and screw all of this drama with being a wolf. Let me worry about the elders, you take care of Seth, yourself, and your boyfriend. That's all we can do for now," I said with positivity.

"His parents Bella," she groaned after being reminded. "They were ticked when we got on the future talk. I haven't finished college, don't know if I ever want kids, don't have a real job that I could explain to them except for helping out my mom, and the moving in situation? They were having a freak out when they found out."

"Maybe that's why Cole didn't tell them," I said thinking a bit, "he wanted to do something for himself. Maybe he knew his parents were going to be uptight about that."

"So…what? His intention was to hurt me with his parent's words and disproval?" she bit out with anger.

"No," I said calmly. "What I'm saying is maybe he wanted the two of you to work through it together- start bringing up the meaning of the future. You said it yourself, he wanted you to move in and meet his folks, maybe you two need to sit down and think about what you are going to do in a few years from now. I'm sure he didn't mean for you to witness his parent's whiplash. People act different on their emotions, he probably wasn't expecting words like that either."

"You're always right," she sniffled, getting up. "He hasn't talked to them since it's happened. And he was apologizing so much when he drove me back here."

"See," I smiled, looping an arm around her shoulders, "now pack up and go talk to your brother."

With a nod and a teary eyed smile, she cleaned up her face and stood up. "What do I say to Seth?" she wondered turning back around to me.

"Anything you want," I shrugged, "he just needs to make sure you're okay. You're his big sister and he cares."

She exhaled nervously and bit her lip.

"Go," I commanded, "it will turn out fine, just go be with him."

Leah's body was so tense I almost wondered if she was actually going to take my order into action. Slowly and surely, her arms and legs began to move and she left the room out of sight.

My job was done here. There was nothing more I could help with. Leah knew where to find me if she wanted to talk anymore and now I just needed to go see Sam. Finding my way through the house, I walked back outside with a small spring in my step. For some odd reason, I felt happy and light hearted. Something inside me knew everything was going to be okay, and with blind faith I believed in it.

My body guided me to my man. I found him standing on the beach facing the cold waters. "You look handsome," I murmured catching his waist in my arms. Kissing his bare back, I felt a small chuckle tremble against my lips.

"Everything go well?" he assumed with a questioning tone in his voice as he bent around his side to look at me.

"I'd like to think so," I chirped, moving to stand next to him.

"Good," he breathed, still hugging me tightly.

"You know…I'm glad we found each other," I admitted staring out into the waters.

"Hmm?" Sam questioned. Craning my head up to look at him, I shined him a bright smile, "We're lucky. Everything we have is perfect. I wouldn't have wished for anything more or less. Even though it was somewhat of a rough start to actually be with each other and figure things out, it all worked out in the end. I'm happy and glad it did; everything here is perfect."

Sam gave me a puzzled look and shifted his head to the side a little. It kind of reminded me of a dog trait. Holding back a small giggle, I reached up and kissed what I could of him. "Come on, lets go home and finish what we started at the Clearwater's earlier," I announced. His hand swung behind mine- laced fingers and all. With a low small growl, he had swung me up in his arms and took off to the car, me laughing all the way home.


	21. Chapter 21

**_A/N: Hey, hopefully you have all looked to chapter 22 to see my reasoning for my mistake, but if not, i will explain it again and on chapter 21. I accidentally skipped over the chapter i had written for chapter 20 and put 21 in its place. So after correcting my error, you should be reading two new chapters with an old one squished in the middle. I am so sorry for this mistake. Please read on and hopefully it will still make sense. But, here's a good chapter ;)_**  
><strong><em><span>Let me know what you think after and heads up- lemon!<span>  
><span>(If want to skip, look for second page break line)<span>  
><span>And please, please, please, review!<span>  
><em>**

"You've become very optimistic today," Sam observed as I made some food for the days to come.

"Have I?" I hummed in question.

"What have you done with my soon to be fiancée?" he wondered, bending his head down to kiss my neck. With a breathy laugh, I pulled away and smiled at him. "I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Oh you do," he said staring in my eyes, "and I like it," he said with a kiss to my nose.

"I aim to please," I teased as he walked to the fridge to get something to drink.

"But seriously, who poisoned your food? Or was it your drink?" he wondered jokingly, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. I tried to act offended, but I was just too happy with life to do so.

"I'm just happy- really happy. Not to jinx everything but everything is good right now. Seth is going to be fine; Leah is finally getting the happiness she has been worrying over, the guys are all good and we are just perfect," I claimed, quickly kissing his lips.

"I beg to differ," he said, letting me go as I walked out of his arms to clean my hands with a dishtowel by the sink.

"Oh?" I wondered in curiosity, as I turned to face him.

"We are going to be perfect if you say yes to the day when I propose to you," he said stalking over to be near me.

"You know I will," I spoke with confidence, kissing his lips as they leaned down to touch mine.

"Even if I asked right now?" he challenged. Part of me wondered if he was teasing or being serious.

"You don't have a ring," I claimed, calling his 'bluff'.

"Says you," he murmured, still staring into my eyes. Shifting a bit, he pulled something out of his pocket, which made me look down to investigate. In his hand was a small little velvety black box. My heart accelerated and I realized he was really about to do this.

"I know it's not very romantic to do this now…" he spoke, now starting to doubt himself. "When did I care about the romantics of everything?" I wondered with my hands placed on the back of his neck. He let out a nervous breath and stared back up at me.

"You know my answer," I spoke knowingly, setting my forehead against his.

"I still want to ask," he said pulling away a tad to move his hand up, placed on my hip, to push away some hair from my eyes.

With a quick kiss to my mark, which had me shuddering with a shockwave of pleasure and arousal, he took a small step back and got down on one knee. Taking my left hand in his, he ran his thumb over the top of my finger where the ring would go and flashed me with a breath-taking smile.

"You, Isabella Swan are my life," he began. His thumb was still running that one finger as we stared into his eyes, absorbing every moment of this. "You walked into my life and blessed me with your heart. You gave me your trust and your faith; you guided me along when I wasn't sure if I even deserved it. Being beside you is perfect," he said firmly tugging on my hands to get his point across, "we had our hardships and stumbles, but my life with you has been the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. You're always true to yourself and dedicated to the Pack. You put others in their place and comfort them when it's needed," he spoke delicately. His thumb went back to rubbing that spot on my hand.

"You take care of the people around you like they are your own and have the utter most respect for others. Everything about you makes me become a better person- it has me want things and provides me the opportunity to achieve them," he paused for a second, "I want you to be my wife, because I want to be your husband. I want to give you everything you gave me and more. I know it will probably take my whole life to repay you for everything you have done for me- but I want that. I want to be there everyday and every night, to give you everything I could possibly give. You deserve so much- sometimes more than my heart can give, but I love you- with everything I am," he finished.

"Marry me Bella," he breathed, "with everyone's permission from the tribe, elders, the family we call the Pack; your father, Aunt, and even the Cullen's- let me be your husband," he pleaded.

The last part of his statement threw me off guard a bit and had me going over his words before opening my mouth to say yes. He asked the whole Pack? And my Aunt? He asked Aunt Betty, Charlie, and even the Cullen's?

"Sam," I breathed, getting over my shock. The poor guy knew my answer but he was still bent on one knee, looking up to me with a fear of me saying no.

"Of course I will," I smiled watching as he got up, "Yes, Sam Uley, I will marry you."

He picked me up and swung me around in a circle, "Yes!" I cheered out, laughing, "yes I will be your wife," I breathed, staring up into his brown orbs holding him close, with my arms around his neck and our chests firmly pushed together, as he planted my feet back down on the ground. With a long, passionate kiss, we made the moment last.

His mouth tugged against mine, pulling at my lips to get closer. He was so energized and excited. I felt like that pink battery bunny as he kissed me. His heart was racing and the mark had me feeling everything he was feeling. It was more than a high could ever give. His love that surrounded my heart and cursed through my body made me never want to pull away. At the time where our minds were getting fuzzy, I cursed the need for oxygen. With the last nip at each other's lips we pulled away and panted. Both of us had red, swollen mouth with heaving chests.

Sam set his forehead against mine and we continued to pant. Running my hand up to his face, I blushed with a smile at his perfect features. Feeling another moment arise, I let my eyes flutter closed and reached up, tilting my head to him again. What can I say? I couldn't get enough.

Sam gladly accepted, knowing I had felt just the same he was. Catching my lips with his, he took control and made sure to part my lips, sweeping his tongue over my lips and inside my mouth. I enjoyed the tingling sensation of him against me and moaned at his taste as he pulled me closer, burning with passion.

Our faces pulled away again, this time with acceptable timing. We continued to breathe heavily, holding each other as close as we could. Enjoying his comfort, I smiled and mauled over everything he had said just a few minutes ago.

"Bells, you're ring," Sam said breaking my thoughts. Glancing down, I saw he had open the little jewelry box and showed me what was inside.

My thoughts had always pictured when the time came; Sam would always get me something simple. La Push wasn't a flashy place and it was never that type of community where people had to wear the famous brand names to show off what they got. But as I stared down at the ring, it again, took me by surprise. I guess I had never really thought about the type of ring Sam would get me, but I never imagined it to be like this.

It was platinum ring with a 1.5 diamond caret in the middle. A diamond-studded, tulip shaped V, cradled each side of the diamond. Also, when you looked carefully, you could see this small elegant design engraved on band of the ring.

"Sam," I breathed taken aback at its beauty. My mind started wondering how much he spent on this as he slipped it on my finger.

"Stop thinking and tell me you like it," he commanded lightly, underlying the hint that he was unsure if I approved of it or not

"Baby, it amazing," I gushed, not able to take my eyes off of it, "I just-"

"It's all for you. Don't say it," he said reading everything I was about to say, "I don't care about the money, you shouldn't either," he spoke.

"But-" I breathed still in shock.

"I love you and you're worth every penny," he spoke, bending his knees a bit to kiss ever inch of my face. Still standing there in astonishment, I kept focus on the ring and had barely enough in me to respond to Sam.

We hadn't joined financial accounts yet. It was stupid really; I don't know why we hadn't yet. I guess we could chalk it up to not having time. Sam and I were always really busy; the Pack, the elders, the rest of our family, and whatever else decided to roll up- sometimes it was a lot. And we never really bothered with the money thing. It's not like I didn't want to share the wealth I had been accustomed to after working in the music business, it was just that we hadn't done anything about it.

"You're still thinking," Sam partially growled in my ear. Nipping at me and my mark a bit, I finally broke out of my thoughts and glanced at him lovingly.

"You, are the greatest man on earth," I announced, wrapping my arms around his neck, to make sure we were as close as we could possibly get.

"Only because I have you here," he said, kissing my lips.

"Suck up," I giggled before he could sweep me into another kiss.

"I-" _kiss_ "love-" _kiss_ "you," I said after a while, pecking my lips against his in-between words.

"I love you too baby," he said smoothly in a breath as he pulled away only to bow his head and kiss me again.

* * *

><p>Our feet began to stumble as we made our way upstairs. A thought in my head made me wonder if it was such a good idea since one of the guys could stop by at any time, but Sam had me so wrapped up in passion that I couldn't bother to dwell on the thought. Whimpering slightly as he licked my mark, he let out a growl and picked me up by the waist. I wrapped my legs around him, groaning at the hard on he was rubbing against me.<p>

Laying me on the bed, my bare back hit the cold sheets and I shivered. The feeling of two temperatures against my skin had my body making goosebumps. Sam ran his lips all over me. My shoulders, neck, and valley of my breasts were all placed with kisses. I gasped as he ran his thumbs over my laced covered nipples. As I arched my back at the shuddering feeling, he swiftly ran his hands behind me and unclasped the clothing. My breasts were set free, which gave him another place to set his mouth on. He teased me, enjoying the sounds of my gasps and pleas in the air.

The only thing left on me was my panties, which were soaked because of Sam. As I moved my own hands down to the bulge of his pants to unbutton them, I slightly teased him by brushing my hands against the hard on. He let out a growl, thrusting his hips against me. Popping open the button, I moaned at the sight of him springing forth. No boxers. That had me trembling with another rush of hot liquid to my panties.

"Baby," he groaned, taking in a whiff of the air around us. Pulling down his cut offs, I moaned as he rubbed his thumb over my nub through the lace panties. I grabbed his length in my hand and moaned again. The feeling of his pre cum on the tip of his dick felt amazing against my fingers. Rubbing it all over the head of his dick, I gave him a few pumps, enjoying his sounds that he grounded out. His hand shot down to stop my actions as I went further- touching him like I knew he enjoyed.

Pausing my actions for the seconds of his request, he ripped off my panties and touched me with vigor. I arched myself off the bed, unable to help my reaction. Sam held my hips in his hand, moving up to face me. His face nuzzled in my neck, biting, licking, and kissing my mark. My whines and moans were sounded throughout the room as I ran my hands back up to his broad shoulders. My nails dug in his skin as he thrusted into me. It was quick and surprising, which had me moaning all the more. His motions were quick yet slow at the same time. He pushed into me fast and hard, but contained himself so he stayed inside of me for a few seconds.

All of him thrusted in and out of me with force, making me pant and call for him repeatedly.

"Yes, baby," he groaned in my ear as I clenched my muscles around his hard dick.

"Sam," I whined, feeling that coil tighten. I wanted it to be let loose but Sam wasn't having any of that- yet.

His touches across my skin had me moaning even more. The temperature of his skin against mine; the way he pushed up against me that made him bury himself deep inside me; it was all too much. With a hard thrust back inside me, I dug my fingers in his back and came below him.

My climax came just in time as he let out a loud growl and spilled his seed inside me. He gave a few shallow thrusts after we both reached breaking point and started to calm down.

"So good baby," he groaned, kissing my mark as he slid out of me. I let out a whimper, feeling that small spark of arousal. We cuddled together, panting like crazy. His fingers drew little doodles over my skin, which caused me to be somewhat aroused again. The light touches had sparks running though my body and down to the one place where I needed him most.

"Bella," he groaned, most likely smelling my juices.

"Can't help it," I breathed, moaning as he dipped his head to take my breast in his mouth. "Baby," I whimpered, feeling his tongue and mouth lick and suck my nipple. My hand cupped the back of his head, withering with such pleasure. Soon, my hands raked through his black croppy hair, begging him to stop so he could just take me.

That wasn't his goal though; he wanted me to come just like that- with him licking me. Moving to the other breast, I let out a loud moan and wished I had a bit more control over my body. Every time my back arched, Sam would just pull me closer and bite, or suck, or both. His wish soon came true and I couldn't take it anymore. With just a few more licks to my girls he had me cumming, yelling out his name.

"Love that sound," he growled, crawling backward down the bed to take me in his mouth.

"Sam!" I breathed, again, taking his hair in my hand as he began to suck me. As his tongue flattened out against me, I couldn't help but let out a loud moan. He always knew what to do.

"Baby please," I whimpered needing more. Letting out a growl at my pleas, he swiped his tongue inside of me, then inserted a finger. "Yes!" I breathed, feeling him push in and out of me.

"More baby, I want to hear more," Sam growled, looking up at me.

"Please baby!" I yelled as he inserted another large finger.

"Fuck Bells," Sam growled, watching the way I was about to cum against him. Biting my lip, I let my eyes roll to the back of my head, trying to contain what I was feeling. He gave a sharp thrust inside of me with his fingers and I knew he was silently telling me not to hold back my sounds or actions.

With his thumb continuously rubbing against my nub and his lips kissing my stomach, I finally let go and came against his digits inside me.

"God Bells," he growled, lowing his head to lap all my juices up again.

"Sam please, need you, please," I repeated, pleading for him to just get inside me already.

"Fuck," he growled, sliding back up the bed to kiss my neck. Sparks shot through me again and I whined. Sliding a hand down to him, I pumped his hard cock a few times. He groaned, and all too soon caught my wrist.

"Keep that up and I wont have anything to fuck you with," he growled out.

"Doubt that," I breathed as he slid the hand he caught up near my head. Thrusting my hips against his, he placed himself against my slit and plunged deep inside me. I let out a gasp, enjoying having him inside me again. After a few skin slapping thrusts, the hand that he caught pumping him had now been entwined with his. Sam continued to pump himself in and out of me, growling at the feeling of getting ready to cum.

Covering my mouth with his, I squeezed against him a few more times and shivered at the feeling of his thumb rubbing my right nipple. Finally, we both came, tensing up hard as his seed spurted inside of me with a rush.

"I need to propose to you more often," he mumbled, kissing my jaw a bit before pushing away some hair that was stuck to my face.

"I guess so," I giggled, leaning up and kissing him briefly.

* * *

><p>Luckily the Pack hadn't interrupted us the rest of the night Sam and I had planned to ourselves. We ventured down the steps a while later, me modeling one of his shirts like usual. After setting some muffins and cookies in the oven to bake, Sam picked out a movie for us and we cuddled on our couch.<p>

"When did you buy the ring?" I wondered, inspecting the jewelry on my hand from time to time.

"When I was out of a coma. I had Sue help me after she quickly cut my hair. She kept it at her house for me and then when we were at the Clearwater's I picked it up."

Raising my eyebrow, I turned back to look at him.

"Don't worry, I didn't hear anything with you two. I promised you I wouldn't didn't I?" he said.

"Not exactly what I was getting at, but that's good- thank you," I chirped, giving him a quick kiss.

"Then what did you mean?" he wondered, squeezing me tight.

"Why keep it at Sue's? And it took you that quick to go find a ring?" I asked.

"I didn't want you to find it. In case you ever did and you still weren't ready, I didn't want you to feel pressured. And I actually saw it when you had me running those errands for you in Port Angeles for that fundraiser you put on a while ago," he said.

"So you went back and bought it?" I questioned, surprised that it would still be there.

"Actually Alice did. After I saw it, I stopped in the shop for a few minutes and took a picture of it. I sent to Alice for approval and she ordered it for me. I had her send it to Sue and filled in both families. I wanted their approval for marriage- which the happily gave," he said with a kiss to my temple.

"You're the best boyfriend ever," I smiled.

"Fiancé baby," he grinned, "I'm you're fiancé," he corrected. My face brightened up with a grin of my own, liking that adjustment.

* * *

><p>"So then what was it like asking my dad for his approval?" I wondered as we decided to quit on the movie and just lay on the couch and talk.<p>

"He suspected it," Sam claimed, as I snuggled in his side. "He was pretty blunt about it which made it somewhat easier."

"Did he pull out the gun?" I wondered.

"Yup," Sam answered which caused me to laugh.

"So what happened then?" I asked.

"He gave me his approval and told me he was glad you were happy- or going to be at least. I asked him to keep it to himself for a while since I wasn't sure when I wanted to tell you, and he complied. Of course, I told him who was going to know and I'm pretty sure he was happy to gossip about it with Billy."

"Of course," I laughed again, envisioning my dad and my Uncle.

"I asked for your Aunt's number before I left, explaining that I wanted to have everyone's blessing that meant something to you. Plus, I wanted them to all make sure they knew so they could come to whatever type of wedding we have," Sam smiled down at me. Blushing a bit, I snuggled my face in his chest and couldn't feel any luckier.

"You're Aunt was pretty cool about it. She said she knew something was going to happen with us. Just by the way you talked about me…" he said with a teasing look. I shot him a playful dirty look and blushed again.

"Thank you for doing this- getting everyone's approval and everything," I murmured while catching my eye to the ring on my finger again.

"No thanks needed," he grumbled kissing the top of my head.

"I'm sure Alice was bouncing off the walls," I laughed as my thoughts went to the Cullen's.

"Her and Rosalie both," he stated, "and I'm pretty sure Emmett too. He seemed pretty excited."

I let out a good-hearted laugh, just picturing the big guy knowing the news.

* * *

><p>The next morning, I woke up to my ring shining on my finger. It always seemed to catch my eye and I couldn't help but to stare at the glistening object. It was just so perfect and pretty. I couldn't believe I, of all people, was going to get married.<p>

A little warm kiss made contact with my shoulder and I tilted my head to see Sam fully awake watching me. Without words I tucked myself closer to him and let out a hum of content. Everything was still perfect.

"When's your patrol?" I mumbled tiredly.

Sam lifted his head and looked at our clock on the nightstand, "in about…20 minutes," he sighed, hugging me tight.

"No Leah anymore right?" I asked.

"Temporarily yes. And no Seth today either- he's going to help Leah move her stuff so I have double patrol today," he groaned.

"I'll miss you," I said trying to cheer him.

"Not as much as I'll miss you," he said kissing my bare shoulder again. Giggling, I rolled over to face him and found a handsome face.

"I'm going to video chat Alice today and let her know we are on the way to sealing the deal."

"Sounds perfect baby," he grinned, closing his lips over mine in a long kiss. We took up those 20 minutes to lay with each other and cuddle. It was a pretty great way to start the morning if I do say so myself.

Sam left for the day, quickly informing me about a bon fire later tonight before he slipped out of the door, I made some fresh orange juice and then drifted over to the living room ouch with my laptop to video chat with the Cullens.

"Bella!" Alice screeched with excitement to see her.

"Hey everyone!" I smiled just as emotional.

"Bella Bean!" Emmett boomed.

"I miss you guys," I said, "but hopefully I'll see you for my wedding?" I grinned.

Their eyes went wide and Alice began freaking out even more. Laughter was heard through both sides of the computer.

"He asked you?" Rose smiled.

"Last night, he did," I said, my jaws practically hurting I had been smiling so much.

"Congratulations Bella," Esme said kindly.

"Thank you," I chirped.

"When's the date? Did you find a dress yet? Oh my gosh! Bella!" Alice squealed. We all laughed again and I shook my head, "Alice, I've only been engaged for a day. But I heard you all saw the ring."

"Lets see the hand Bella," Edward said. Holding up my left hand, I smiled and bit my lip in such happiness I could cry. The girls went crazy and the boys just smiled and whistled.

"Very beautiful," Esme spoke.

"So when's the big day?" Emmett wondered.

"Not a clue," I laughed. "I'm just enjoying the rush of it all."

"Bella, you have to let me pick out the dress, and plan the wedding. Oh, and we can help with the honeymoon," Alice rambled.

"Alice," I laughed.

"Sweetheart," Jasper said trying to calm down his pixie wife.

We talked for a few hours, informing each other about the lives we were living. I told them about the house Sam and I was now living in, the pack drama- about Leah (and even what Seth was going through) and gave them some more info about how Liam was growing up. The Cullens then, in return, told me about their travels and the renewal vows of Carlisle and Esme. Rose was still checking up with me every so often, but I promised her I was doing perfect and she could see that. From there, Alice continued to plead with me to let her take care of the wedding. "I'll talk it over with Sam okay? He should probably have some say in this all too," I laughed. Most of the Cullens nodded along side me but Alice just huffed.

"Can I at least pick out your wedding dress? I found one that's perfect Bella."

"I can try it on?" I said trying to please her in whatever way I could. "I mean, I was going to go shopping with some of the people around here one day- they probably want to be included with all the wedding stuff, but I would be happy to see yours Alice," I said watching her face fall and then brighten again.

"I'll ship it right over to you Bella. I swear, you're going to love it!"

"Alright," I laughed with a shrug.

As it was getting late for them, I promised to stay in touch with Alice and let her know how everything was progressing with the wedding and all the plans. Once I picked a date Alice was going to be one of the first people to know- that was another promise.

Shutting down my laptop, I let out a breath and then went back to the kitchen to start making some more food for the bon fire. The plans were pretty short notice, but I understood since Sam was so wrapped up in what went down last night. I had a few pies baking in the oven, along with some chili being cooked on the stove when Charlie and Uncle Billy came walking in.

"Uncle Billy?" Dad? I smiled, surprised to see him walking through the open doors of my house.

"I hear congratulations are in order," Billy teased with light eyes. Laughing, I wiped my hands and walked over to the two. Bending down I gave Billy a long hug and then turned to my dad.

"Congratulations Bells," he said with a warm smile.

"How did you know?" I wondered with my own grin as I pulled away.

"You know you couldn't have kept this kind of news for long," Billy chimed in lightly. I giggled a bit.

"Sam called, he was busy with Pack stuff so he wanted to ask us if we could tell you and stop by to help you grab the food you were sure to be bringing," Uncle Billy said. Blushing a bit, I rolled my eyes at my man.

"He said he was sorry he couldn't send some of the guys," My dad added.

"I thought we were good enough," my Uncle joked again. Laughing at the two, I nodded and full accepted Sam's apology.

"So you almost ready to go kiddo?" Charlie wondered.

"Just about. Let me get these pies out of the oven. And can you stir that real quick? And then shut off the stove?" I asked my dad as he walked further in the kitchen. Doing as I told him to, he waited for further direction as I got everything ready.

"Sam did good- with the rock," Billy said staring at my hand as I pulled off the oven mitt.

"You're telling me," I said lightly. Both the men laughed and I had everyone help grab everything. Uncle Billy had some muffins in his lap, Charlie had the pot of chili and I carried the boxes of pies.

We got to the bon fire in no time. Dusk was setting and the boys were out gathering wood.

"Let's see!" Sue cheered as I walked into view. With a laugh, I set down the pies on the table and held out my hand.

"It looks gorgeous on you Bella," she said dearly.

"Thank you," I blushed.

"Mommy!" Liam said coming over to me with a run.

My heart soared at his words and I quickly kneeled down to grab my boy. "Liam!" I said catching him in my arms.

"You look pretty," he commented.

"Thank you," I beamed, my heart melting at his comment.

"You're happy," he cheered.

"Of course I am little man," I smiled.

"No Auntie Elley, you're _really_ happy," he said staring at my face. "Is it 'cause Sam propered you?"

"You mean proposed?" I asked with a small chuckle.

"Yea," he nodded looking into my eyes.

"Ya, I guess so," I beamed again.

_**A/N: Haven't had many reviews on this big eventful chapter (thank you to the reviewer that did though!) Should I end the story here? It's somewhat of a happily ever after...**_


	22. Chapter 22

_**A/N: Hey all, so I totally messed up, which is why you all may be confused. This is a new chapter, but the chapters 20 and 21 got a little screwed up. I accidentally forgot to upload 20 in the right spot and chapter 21 took its place (hopefully that makes sense). Please take the time to read it over. I think it might make more sense. Sorry for the error and not updating in so long. I have really been debating with myself when and if i should end it as it is. The review rating is not what i expected and yea. Thanks for all those who did though. Its a really big help and gives me some more push to write and update.**_

"Bella, congratulations," Letty said walking over to us.

"Thank you," I chirped again. Liam squirmed in my arms, trying to get comfy as he wrapped his arms around my neck and tucked his head on my shoulder.

"How's this guy been?" I wondered to Paul's mom. I hadn't had the chance to see Will as much since Sam came back around. Everything in life had been busy.

"Good, growing like his father," she smiled patting his back.

"Where is everyone?" I wondered.

"Boys are gathering wood and I think the girls are further down the beach getting the food all together?"

"Oh okay," I said starting to go investigate.

"Here, I got these," Letty said taking the pies from the table to carry.

"Thanks," I breathed, finding my self somewhat full handed. I noticed Sue had already made her way over to Charlie and Billy, who were also still near the grassy part of the land, talking amongst each other.

Walking down towards the water, I relaxed in peace and let the sand fill in-between my flip-flops.

"Bella!" Kim squealed, racing over to me.

Laughing, I stuck out my hand and showed her the sparkly ring.

"Oh my god," Sarah said first as she stood next to Kim.

"Pretty huh?" I laughed.

"More like gorgeous," Kim commented.

"That's shiny," Will commented popping his head up to look.

"It is, isn't it?" I smiled to him.

"So how'd it happen?" Andrea asked as we set up.

"You all don't know yet?" I said curiously.

"Boys have been gone all day with patrols and stuff. We only saw everyone for a quick second before they had to go get wood."

"Oh," I said surprised, "well…I don't know, we were standing in the kitchen talking about life and then he proposed."

"Bella, I think Sam could even tell it better than you did just now," Leah said walking towards us.

"Leah!" We all cheered happily. Cole smiled at us, standing right behind her as we attacked our family member with huge hugs.

"Cole, Seth," I smiled, giving each other them a hug with Liam still attached to me.

"Hey little man," Seth said playfully as he tickled the boy's side. Liam gave a giggle and graciously dove into Seth's arms.

"So, let's see it!" Leah said giving me the phrase everyone has been saying since I got here. Sticking out my hand, Cole let out a whistle.

"Now that's nice," Leah commented to her boyfriend.

"Lucky girl," Seth's voice rang, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek as he set Will down to stand on the picnic table of food.

"How was moving in?" I wondered to the three.

"She has a lot of stuff," Seth claimed.

"Do not," Leah fussed. Glancing at Cole, I saw him jokingly nodding to agree with Seth. Leah caught my eyesight and hit her man lightly on the chest while rolling her eyes. As the rest of us sat around talking for a while, I let Liam pick into the fruit tray with his little fingers.

"So really, back to the topic at hand, how did Sam propose?" Leah wondered.

"Umm…well, we were talking about life and how great it was- or I was I guess. But anyways, I said something like 'we were perfect' and he said 'not until I say yes when he asks me to marry him'. I told him of course I would and so he asked me right there. I thought he didn't have a ring but he just pulled one out of his pocket and got down on one knee."

All of the girls melted into a puddle, Leah included, which had me grinning. I knew the girl wanted the fairytale.

"Hey, when did we start picking?" Paul's voice boomed as he walked up to Liam from behind.

"Auntie Elley let me!" he protested as Paul shook his hand through his kid's shaggy hair. Paul raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged.

"Hey, fruit is made for picking, see," I said sticking my own two fingers in to grab a green grape and popping it in my mouth. Everyone chuckled as I smiled sweetly to Paul and let his child grabbed some more fruit.

"Yea, well congratulations," Paul said coming over to hug me one handedly, since his other arm carried some wood.

"Thank you," I beamed, getting up to hug the daddy wolf.

"Bella!" two voices shouted. Turning my attention to whoever was calling me, I could see Collin and Brady coming back with some wood too.

"Hey guys," I smiled, each giving them the same type of hug I did Paul.

"Heard you got a rock on your hand," Jared said coming over to us now too before I could further a conversation with the twins.

"Hey Jared," I laughed, hugging him too as the two youngest boys hung around me.

"How was gathering wood?" I asked all of them in general. Jared gave me a nod while moving over towards Kim.

"Not bad," Collin shrugged.

"I swear you boys have enough wood to have a bon fire for days," Charlie commented with Billy rolling up beside him while Sue followed them.

"Sam did well," Sue commented taking another look at my ring.

"Thank you," a deep voice boomed.

"Hey," I said, my face brightening watts. Sam stalked over to me, arms dropping the woods onto the sand so his warm limbs could hold me. Letting out a giggle, I moved away from our family and snaked my arms around his neck. Leaning down, he gave me a small peck to the lips, which seemed to brighten my expressions even more.

"Dum dum dum dum, " Quil sang with the tune of the wedding march. Rolling my eyes, I tore myself away from Sam and said a quick hello to Quil and Embry, who was behind him with wood too.

"And the love birds have finally made their way to each other," my best friend Jake cheered.

"Hey Jake," I smiled.

"Welcome to your engagement party…slash bonfire," Jake added. Both Sam and I looked at each other surprised, and then to everyone else.

"Congratulations," they all said together. I flushed pink, making everyone laugh (along with my fiancé) and buried my head in Sam's neck.

"When did you plan this?" Sam wondered to his brother.

"Since this morning when you were beaming. As you were off with Collin and Brady for patrol, I talked with my dad and had him help me make the bon fire more special."

"How is it more special if I may ask?" I spoke up, lifting my head from Sam.

"Well, the fire is a lot bigger, hence all the wood. And my dad will give some ceremony thing. It's just for good luck, a seal of our blessing and loyalty to the both of you. Nothing big, but I thought it would mean a lot to you guys, especially since Sam is alpha and all."

Feeling so lucky to have a friend like my Jake, I slid away from Sam and hugged the man. "Thank Jakey, it means a lot," I smiled, laughing at myself for letting his silly nickname slip.

"Course Bells," he smiled kissing my nose and squeezing my waist.

"Thanks Jake," Sam said patting my best friend on the back, "but don't ever kiss my girl that close to her lips again," he warned with a hard squeeze to the wolf's shoulder. The Pack let out a laugh, while Jake and I just rolled our eyes.

"So how did you get Sam to not ask questions about the wood?" I wondered as I watched my fiancé went to go grab the logs he dropped a little while ago.

"Easy, I just told him my dad wanted to stock up and I never really had the time, Sam bought it pretty easily," Jake smiled cheekily. Giving him another thank you, he shrugged it off by chalking it up to being a friend duty. He kissed Sarah quickly and then left to go put the wood down.

As Collin and Brady went to go join his Pack mates, Brady stopped dead in his tracks and stared straight ahead.

"What?" Collin asked looking over to the group of others who were a ways down the beach.

"Do you see her?" Brady said dazed. Going over to look in the line of sight he was, I saw a little girl, who was maybe 5?

"Oh man," I said.

"He didn't," Collin started, stopping himself from furthering the sentence.

"yup," I breathed.

"Did I just- on a five year old?" Brady wondered, dropping his wood where he was standing.

"Think so," I said slightly worried of how he was taking it all.

"A five year old?" he repeated.

"Yup," Collin said watching the little girl who was a ways away from us. She seemed to be with her father, who looked young himself.

"Single parent?" I was wondering aloud.

"Looks like it," Collin commented to me.

"I'm screwed," Brady announced.

"Quil!" I yelled. Quil stopped what he was doing as he glanced at us and came trotting over.

"What happened?" he wondered.

"The five year old," I told the Pack brother.

"Oh," was all he could say. "Well congrats man, join the kiddy boat," Quil said clapping a hand on his back.

"Fuck," Brady swore.

"Hey, watch it," I warned. "Go on, go meet her," Collin encouraged.

"And what am I supposed to say? 'Oh hi, little girl. And hi father of the girl who is five years old'. I'm Brady and you're going to be my mate."

"We wouldn't really say that," Collin said glancing at me. Brady shot his brother a dirty look.

"Just go talk to her, you can do it," I said. "maybe try warming up to the father first. Wonder if he is Quileute? maybe he already knows," I shrugged trying to bring some positivity to the situation.

"Right," Brady snapped sarcastically.

"No need to get grumpy, just go find out the little girl's name. You're a kid yourself, you can do this," I said.

Letting out a huff, he backboned himself and walked off to meet the girl of his dreams. I glanced around, wondering who knew yet and saw Seth shaking slightly.

"Come here," I called for my little brother, waiting for him to jog over to me. Collin gave me a quick squeeze to the hand as he left me so I could have my time with Seth. Hesitant at first, Seth soon came over to my arms and sighed.

"Love you," I said kissing his naked chest.

"love you too," he sighed again.

"Don't sound like you mean it or anything," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes as I tried to put a smile on his face. He gave me a lopsided grin before thinking over what just happened again. I watched his happy expression fade and laid my head against him.

"It will be your time, just you wait. You'll meet the girl," I said.

"Thanks Bells," Seth sulked. Letting him take time to think everything over a bit more, I watched as everyone slowly drifted back into a flowing conversation. Sam glanced over at me, some jealousy in his eyes, but Collin was standing right there, telling him what just went on. The hostility and jealousy in my fiancé's eyes simmered but didn't dissipate. He gave me more of an understanding nod of the head and silently told me to find him when I was done.

"Is it sad to say I'm jealous of Brady, even though his imprint is a five year old? And he will probably have to deal with that father?" Seth wondered aloud making me turn my gaze away from Sam.

I giggled a bit at the thought of poor Brady and the father of his imprint but quickly set my mind back on track to the serious situation. "I think you have a right to be jealous, but I don't think you are going to want to wish through what Brady will have to deal with."

"True," Seth said, short with words.

"You gunna be okay with this?" I wondered to him as he went silent.

"Time would help, but I doubt that will happen," Seth grumbled, "Now I have to deal with another person's thoughts," he muttered.

"I'll have Sam take you off patrol for a while," I pitched.

"No we are already down Leah," he sighed.

"Well then I'll make sure he sets you up with Jared… or maybe Collin. That way you don't have to see or hear as much. Okay?"

"That's okay Bells," he objected.

"I'm doing it," I said hitting his chest lightly, "so no whining."

Leaning over, he gave me head a kiss and murmured the quietest thank you I have ever heard. When Seth was as cheered up as he could be, I left to go find Sam, who was talking with Paul by the water.

"Hey boys," I mumbled, going straight for the comfort of my man.

"Not good huh?" Paul said looking at my sullen face as we all thought about the male Clearwater.

"he's having a hard time dealing with it," I spoke.

"He'll be okay baby, he'll find someone," Sam said rubbing my back as I snuggled in his bare chest.

"I have to go find my son, I'll catch you guys later," Paul said giving us a smile as he took off.

"So, a good surprise?" Sam asked me trying to take my worried thoughts away.

"One of the best, how about you?" I wondered.

"It got me. I thought by now the boys could never surprise me because they would never get anything past me," he admitted, "but I guess I was wrong."

"Well, technically they didn't. I guess Collin and Brady weren't informed till they got to stay human, and Jared can keep _**some**_ thoughts shielded. He was on your second patrol right?" Sam nodded, "so I guess the only one who really got passed you was your Beta. All the rest of the guys took the easy way out and didn't phase when you were around," I spoke, glancing up at him.

"Makes me feel a little better I guess," he murmured. Letting out a laugh, I rolled my eyes and nuzzled against him. "Will you pair up Seth and Collin on patrols for a while? I just-"

"Yea baby, don't worry about it," he said hugging me, "I'll help Seth any way I can."

"Thank you," I told him closing my eyes for a few seconds.

"Bella!" A voice shouted. Looking up, I found Brady running back towards us with a grin on his face.

"She's awesome!" he said showing me her number written on his hand. "her name is Joey, Josephine really, but her father hates the long name. She's five, which is kinda of bad, but he said he approved of me. And you're right, he is Quileute. He saw the look on my face and immediately knew."

"Who's the father?" Sam asked.

"His name is Scott," Brady answered.

"So everything went well?" I wondered.

"yea," the 17-year-old kid shrugged. "He wasn't too happy about it but he knew I had to be around. Joey's mother left them a few months ago- died of cancer," he said sadly, "so anyways, Scott came back here to try and put things back together. It was their first full day here," Brady beamed.

"That's great Brady," I smiled, happy for the younger pup.

"Yea, but I think I'm going to be put to work," Brady said with furrowed brows. Sam and I both chuckled and stared back at him curious. "Scott said something like 'great to have an extra pair of hands around'? then he patted me on the back and told me he'd see me tomorrow," Brady said picking back up with the happiness. Sam and I laughed against each other. Brady thought he was getting it easy.

"Well Brady, enjoy the time you have before you are overworked," I joked.

The kid's eyebrows furrowed and Sam shook beside me in laughter. "Remember, you have patrol tonight and tomorrow morning- no skipping on that."

"Yes sir," Brady said rolling his eyes before running off with to see his mates.

"Oh, I can't wait to see how this unravels," I laughed with Sam as we looked at each other. There was going to be so much in store with Brady. I'm sure that man Scott would put him to work and make sure he was nothing but gentle and kind to his child (but of course, Brady is nothing less than a sweet kid). Sam rumbled with laughter again and kissed my forehead. "Come on, let's go back and join our party."

Our hands swung in between us, and a light breeze swept over the late afternoon.

"Alright, time for food," I said picking up Liam as he tugged on my shirt, silently telling me he wanted up.

"Hey mommy? Can I see that sparkly thing?" Will asked pointing down to my hands. Furrowing my eyebrows for a second, I realized he was talking about my ring. Shifting him in my arms, I showed him my left hand and let him observe my engagement ring.

"Pretty huh?" I asked him.

"It's more beautiful on the girl wearing it," Sam said coming by to kiss my temple. Blushing a tad, I let out a chuckle as he went to go grab his plate of food.

"Come on buddy, lets get you some food," I said, turning back for a second to realize Claire just arrived, squealing for Quil.

"After dinner, can we go play? Maybe build a castle?" Liam asked me.

"Sure buddy, but remember we have a big bon fire remember? And this one is going to be really big."

"Cause of you and Sam," Will said more of statement than a questioning tone.

"Yes," I answered with a smile.

"I don't like it," he complained in a small voice. My happiness dropped and I immediately became worried. "Why buddy?"

"You're my Auntie Elley," he said "and he will take you away."

"No ones taking me away," I said trying to get the tiny man to look at me. Instead, he played with my necklace.

"Liam, I'm not going anywhere. I'm always going to be here, as you're mommy remember? Just because Sam and I are getting married doesn't mean I love you any less or forget about you. I'm too in love with you to do that," I smirked. He blushed a bit, but hid it as he buried his head in my neck.

"Don't disappear Elley, I don't like it when daddy said I couldn't see you. He said you were busy with Sam."

"I may be busy with Sam at times, but I will always find my way back to you, okay?" I asked rubbing his back. When did Liam want to come over and Paul said no? and why wasn't I informed of this? I felt Liam's head move in a nod and before I could say or think about it anymore, Claire came running for my legs, attacking me with a hug.

"Hey pretty girl," I chirped looking down at her as best as I could.

"Isabelley!" she squealed.

"Did you want to get some food with Liam and I?" I asked.

"Yea!" she said nodding her head vigorously.

"Don't get any ideas," I murmured to Sam as I passed him on our way to the food table. He had on that observant futuristic bliss look. No kids, not yet anyways. I still wanted to get married and enjoy that couple months of newlywed bliss before any bun came in my oven.

"You look good with kids around you Bella," Kim commented as she put out some more food.

"Not you too," I groaned, helping Claire fill her plate while grabbing my own for Will and I to share.

"Just saying," she smirked with a shrug.

"Are you going to say it too?" I wondered to Embry as he grabbed some more food. "That you already look like you're in mother mode? Not if you don't want me to, but I think the looks suit you," he shrugged, trying to go away unscathed, shooting him a death glare, I jumped as Quil came up I behind us.

"Ladies, and Matt," Quil said giving Liam's head a ruffle, "can I help you with something?"

"Did you want to finish with Claire's plate? And get her a drink," I said.

"Of course," Quil said, giving me a kiss on the cheek while taking his imprint over to the coolers.


	23. Chapter 23

Taking a seat on the sand, with Liam still in my arms, I let him settle into a spot next to me as we shared our plate of food.

"Here, these are for you two," Quil said handing us a chilled can of soda and a juice box in one hand.

"Thank you," I chirped, taking them from him as I went back to cutting up some chicken for Will.

Leah and Cole came to sit next to us a while later, Will now happy as a clam he was getting all of the attention. Will really seemed to warm up to Cole. I think it was because he made Leah really happy and toddler could see that.

"So have you started planning anything for the wedding yet?" Leah wondered.

"You're kidding right?" I laughed.

"Are you guys thinking of a big wedding?" Cole wondered.

"I don't think so, not huge. I mean, we'll have all of us here, the Cullens, my aunt and maybe some other people."

"What about Sam's family?" Cole asked.

"I…" trailing off, I didn't know much about his family. The thought hit me, and shocked me a bit. I _really_ didn't know much about Sam's past at all.

"Bella?" Leah wondered.

"Mommy? Can I have another juice?" Will asked.

"Yea," I said getting up, ignoring the couple beside us. Wiping the sand off my butt, I trotted over to the cooler and pulled out a cold juice box.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asked coming over to me. Reading my face, he stopped me from walking passed him in a zombie like state and waited till I met his eyes.

"Where is your family?" I wondered.

"What do you mean? They're right here," he said confused.

"No, I mean like your mother or father. Do you even have any siblings?" I asked.

"where is this all coming from?" he said curiously.

"I didn't even think what I don't know about you. I mean, you know about my mom, and Charlie of course, but it never crossed my mind where you came from or who raised you. Siblings?" I wondered again.

"No, not that I know of," Sam answered cautiously.

"So…others? Father? Alive? Dead? Missing?" I asked, heightening my pitch with each word.

"Okay, relax," he said taking my shoulders to calm myself.

"Sam, I don't know you," I said slowly, "I don't know anything about you. When did you graduate from high school? Did you graduate from high school? What were your friends like? What were you going to do before becoming a wolf? Were you smart? Did you do well in school?"

"Bella," he said in a deep tone while lowing himself by the knees to try and catch my eyes, "slow down. I'll answer anything you want me to. Let's take a walk," he bargained.

"I can't, I'm eating," I said trying to put together my jumbled thoughts, "and I have to give this to Liam," I spoke holding up the juice.

"Cole, think fast," Sam called slipping the fruit drink out of my hand and tossing it at him. Cole caught it with ease and handed it over to Liam.

"I'll make sure someone saves you some more food for when we get back, now come on, walk with me," Sam said again trying to lead us away from the large crowd. Sucking in a huge breath and slowly letting it out, I followed along and hoped for the best.

"I grew up with my mom and dad. My mom died in a car accident when I was 10 and by the age of 18, I was a wolf," Sam explained. "I phased in the summer month right before I was going to go to college on a small football scholarship, so I had to drop all of my future plans and fulfill my destiny as a wolf. Billy and Harry helped me learn all about werewolves, my responsibility, and why I had phased. Since I accepted the alpha role, my dad and I butted heads often- he was the alpha of this tribe when vampires arose too. He had stepped down a little while later after my mom and him had me but he still had those qualities you know? So he moved to the Makah tribe, just north of us. I don't really see him that often, distance has really gotten the best of us. Actually, in all honesty, I forgot about him. He hasn't been apart of my life for so long that he just doesn't seem to exist," Sam said watching me from the corner of his eye. "So anyways, he moved, I sold the house and got my own to start a new life. Then I met Emily and you know stuff from there," he said with an awkward pause.

"So, you're dad is alive," I croaked out. After all of this time I had to get to know Sam, I never once batted an eye at the parent figures in his life. "Sam, you're father is alive and you didn't care to tell me that? What- what else don't I know?" I wondered.

"Bella, its not that big of a deal. He isn't the greatest man, I mean, he isn't the worst either he is just him ya know? We can go see him together if you want? I-I don't know what to tell you," he trailed off.

"Sam, we are getting married- you proposed to me, and your dad doesn't even know of the girl in your life. Answer me this, did Emily know? Has she met your father?"

"Yes but…"

"Sam!" I said now fuming. "God…fuck! He doesn't even know me! He probably thinks you're still going out with her. Geez! How could you do this?" I asked.

"Bella wait!" he said as I sharply turned to run off, "Emily only met of my father because of her family comes from that same reservation. She grew up on the Makah res, and got to know him. That's how we met and…Bella, please," he said catching my arm.

"You have a father, a real live father Sam," I said with tears in my eyes. "He's the parent that more than partially raised you. And how can I- how do I live with someone…marry someone," I corrected, "that I don't even know anymore? Or his family doesn't even know me. It's like to you- outside of the Pack and my friends and family, I don't exist."

"yes you do," he whined.

"No, Emily does," I forced.

"Is that what this is about then?" He wondered, "You're jealous of Emily?"

"What? No!" I roared, "I'm mad at _you_! If Cole hadn't asked about who would be coming to our wedding - or hell, if and when I even had the time to sit down and think about it, I would have never known. I feel like I don't know you, and without knowing you, I can't trust you. My feelings are so screwed up because of this stupid imprint pull. I want to hate you right now but it kills me inside to do so," I cried out.

"I'm sorry," he called, as I pulled myself away from him.

"Yea, well sorry doesn't cover it," I called back as I rejoined the party. My heart was aching and I was so upset I could barely function. Maybe it was unreasonable of me to lash out like this but I hated it. I hated that jealous feeling of Emily having a one up on me but everything I said was true. It bothered me to no end that I really didn't know Sam. It made me wonder if everything was now worth it. I had spent years of my life with a stranger (or at least that's how it felt.)

"Bells! Come on, we can start setting up everything," Jake chirped.

"not now Jake, it's not the time," I said with sniffles as my head was down. Maybe if I had taken the time to talk with him, get to know him more. I mean, we really did just jump in a relationship when we met…

"What happened?" he wondered, tilting my chin to look at me. He met a teary eyed face, but not my eyes. I diverted them with every chance I got.

"What happened?" he asked again more worried.

"Thank you for the amazing party, but I really need to get out of here. I'm so sorry, and I know that doesn't even make it fair but I have to go, I need to go okay?" I said desperate to get away before Sam could stop me again.

"Hey! Wha-…Bells?" Paul asked coming to stand near Jake and I. after noticing my tear stained face he knew something was wrong. "Where's Sam?"

"Here," the voice boomed. I flinched in the slightest and prayed to just get away from here.

"Thank you again," I said kissing Jake's cheek before running off.

"Wait!" Sam called.

"Go away!" I yelled.

"Bella!" he said catching up to me. He pulled me back by the shoulder and put me in a dead stop.

"I don't want to talk to you. And I don't want to be here right now, let me go," I said.

"I know sorry doesn't make up for anything Bella, but I am. I didn't think about my father and I'm sorry for that Baby, I am so sorry. But if Emily didn't matter then why bring her up? I know it bothers you Bella, please talk to me."

"It's the part where you still have her in your life. She can and probably will know more than anything than I ever will in your life. We are pulled together by the gods or fate or some crap like that. And it's these days, these times like this, that I hate imprinting. I hate the thought of it, the involvement in it and everything about it."

"Bella," he sighed.

"Your relationship with Emily was real, and I can never compare to that. Even when you say what we have is real, and even though I can feel it, a huge part of me nags at the fact that there is a possibility that it isn't."

"Bella," Sam tried again.

"Maybe this was all too much. Maybe this is where we take a step back and really think things through. Sam, maybe marriage is the wrong way to go," I spoke slowly.

"No, you don't get to do this," he growled, "You don't get to call this off like that. I'm not letting you do this and I'm not letting you go. You need to start believing that I'm in your life and I'm here because I love you. I fell in love with you remember? The imprint is just a tie, it makes us feel each other." He let out a breath and tried to calm his rising anger, "Please Bella, take a step back and think about this."

"I don't know you," was all I could think.

"You can still get to know me," he spoke slowly.

"Mommy!" a voice cried out. Will came running for me with tears down his cheeks. I swooped him up in my arms effortlessly, wondering what he was doing away from the party.

"William Matthew!" Paul growled out as he chased the kid.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice thick with tears.

"I should be asking you that," Paul said to me calming down as he looked between Sam and I. Liam whimpered, taking shelter in the crook of my neck.

"What's wrong buddy?" I wondered.

"You left me," he whimpered again.

"Oh Liam," I sighed rubbing his back, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"You didn't say goodbye," he sniffled.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm right here," I said, trying to get the little boy calmed down. He hugged me tighter and continued to cry a little. Glancing at Paul, I wondered what had happened.

"He overheard some of us guys talking. You looked upset and everyone was wondering what was going on; I guess he picked up on it and went looking for you," Paul sighed, reading my face for the answers I wanted.

"Will, you can't run off like that," Paul scolded. Liam let out a sniffle and just turned his head on my shoulder. "Alright dad, he's sorry. It was my fault anyways," I told Paul, shifting my attention to the kid in my arms.

"Bella," Sam's voice rang in my ears.

"No, not now," I said in a short tone. Paul looked at the two of us again, wondering what the heck was going on. Before he could speak any words and ask, I opened my mouth.

"Liam, you need to calm down." I warned the kid softly, feeling his body tense and heard him starting to get worked up again.

"No," he cried out, now sobbing for some reason. Holding him closer while rubbing up and down his back, I swayed from side to side trying to comfort him as best as possible. What was going on in this kid's head?

"Will," Paul said concerned as his son was now full on sobbing.

"Okay, Paul, I am going to take him for a bit okay? He and I need some time," I said. Paul nodded while Sam just stared at me. Still swaying, I whispered in his ear and held his head close to me.

"Don't stray too far please," Paul requested as I went to walk off. With a nod, I took Liam away from everyone and allowed him to cry whatever he was feeling out. I stood around the empty land just holding him in my arms, praying he was really okay.

_**(Safe & Sound- Taylor Swift)**_

"_Just close your eyes  
>The sun is going down<br>You'll be alright  
>No one can hurt you now<br>Come morning light  
>You and I'll be safe and sound," I sang softly in his ear. "Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh<br>La La (La La)  
>La La (La La)<br>Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh  
>La La (La La)." His sobs went down to tears and sniffles, and soon he pulled away to look at me.<br>"Just close your eyes  
>You'll be alright<br>Come morning light,  
>You and I'll be safe and sound<em>..." I repeated again, but slowly in a melodic tune. "What's going on with you little man," I asked kissing his nose softly.

"You were upset," he stated with a sniffle. I cocked my head to the side surprised. How would a little kid like that read me so well? "Mommy, you are sad. I don't like it," he whimpered.

"I'm alright buddy," I said forcing a smile on my face. My priority was Liam right now, Sam would be dealt with later. But as I forced my boyfriend-…fiancé, I mean, out of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder how life went to so good to so bad in a matter of minutes.

"Is this what had you so upset? You thought I was sad?" I asked. He shrugged and played with my hair. "Liam…" I questioned elongating his name so he knew I meant business.

"I don't like it when you are sad, and you wasn't around when I looked and I ran but daddy started yelling and you had tears in your eyes when I found you," he said in a shy voice.

"So did you," I said softly. "I don't like it when _**you're**_ sad."

"Why did you leave?" he wondered to me, "you said you wouldn't forget about me. You said we could build a sand castle."

"Oh Will," I sighed feeling extremely guilty, "I am so sorry buddy. I was so caught up in other things, I totally forgot about the castle. But Liam, I would never, ever forget about you. It was just the timing and place that got to me, it wasn't you. You are always going to be in my life okay? I will always love you-no matter how things play out or what you do. I am in your heart forever, just like you are in mine," I stated. He sniffled a bit and kissed my cheek. Those soft gestures had me melting. How could one kid be so perfect? It made me wonder what impact I was really having on his life.

"I love you mommy," he sighed as he laid his head on my shoulder while wrapping his arms around my neck.

"I love you too William, and I always will," I said swaying us back and forth again.

* * *

><p>I wasn't exactly sure what to do after I got Will to calm down. Was I supposed to bring him back to the fire? If I did, I knew everyone would be curious to why I ran off. And I knew we were already being talked about because of what Paul told me. But what was I supposed to do?<p>

"Hey you two," Seth said coming up to us.

"Seth?" I wondered as Liam popped his head up.

"Matty," Seth said winking at the child. Liam giggled and buried his head back in my body.

"Is everything okay? Something happen?" I wondered somewhat afraid.

"Everything is fine, I just was coming to check up on you two," he said sitting next me. I had plopped down on the ground a few minutes after Liam was content, the little boy was just weighing on my arms as sad as that was to say.

"You know, I know something is wrong, and you don't have to tell me, but I just wanted to say, I'm here for you- just like you are for me," he confessed. I gave the kid a smile and leaned my head on his shoulder. "Life is just complicated."

"Isn't it always?" Seth questioned rhetorically.

"True that," I stated thinking over my problems. Liam's weight in my arms started to get heavier and I knew he was drifting off to sleep.

"This little guys had a hard day," Seth commented about the boy.

"That he has," I stated again, "he's been on an emotional rollercoaster." My heart sank a bit as I found myself being responsible for that. "Do you ever think that sometimes, life would just be better without you?" I questioned.

As I spoke those words, something clicked inside of me. I wasn't sure what it was or how it really happened, but I suddenly got it. I think this was how my mother felt- how she was thinking when she did what she did. My thoughts immediately went to her and shifted. I would never do that to my child- I would never take my life. Her actions were selfish, and I was always mad at her for that, but I could also see how life could gain up on you so much that it just brought you to your knees and made you beg to just leave the world.

"I used to think about it a lot, especially when imprinting thoughts hit me," Seth stated. "But I don't know, we grew closer and Leah's life was shaping up, so I guess I stopped thinking that way and indulged in some self pity instead," he admitted. "Plus, if you really think about it, life would be so much different if we weren't here. We are tied to so many people it would alter everyone's life."

"I wasn't thinking suicide Seth," I said, "my mom did that remember? I would never…I was just- thinking if things were different. If we made different decisions and did different things, where would we end up? Would it be better? Worse?"

"Why think like that when you can't change anything?" he asked, "things happen for a reason I guess and whatever we chose then led us to here now. You can't go back to the past, you can only make up for it in the present."

His words made me start thinking. He was right of course, the past was the past. And even though I used to think that way, I could never really apply those words to myself- unfair right? I know, and now with Sam, I really had to try.

"Why do you want to imprint so bad?" I wondered again, "I just- when we talked you know, I gave you the down sides but you still want it. There are so many reasons to hate it and fear it, but you don't."

"I guess I do," he said carefully, "but its just such a great thing its hard to hate. Imprinting shows the wolf his mate, and its like nothing you could ever imagine. I mean I know you feel the pull, but with us, it's so much more. We can feel how much the wolf enjoys the person he imprints on- it's not just the man. And I don't know, something about true love just sounds perfect. It adds more to this twisted supernatural world," Seth joked, glancing over at me.

A twinge of guilt stabbed my heart. Here I was sulking about being imprinted on when there was Seth who was praying for the day he would meet his imprint. I was so selfish and self-centered, sometimes I couldn't stand myself.

"I would say you're lucky to be imprinted on but I know that's not what you want to hear," Seth said, "and I wouldn't say it either because what you and Sam have gone through is really rough, its hard to deal with. It's probably the one case of imprinting that wasn't the best."

"Thanks Seth," I chuckled rolling my eyes.

"Just hear me out," Seth smiled, "Kim and Jared have it easy. Jared liked the girl for years before he went wolf and then a few days later after he did transform, BAM, he imprints on Kim and its instant love. Same goes for Jake and Sarah, and Embry and Andrea. A little different ways of meeting but they still have that easy love thing. They just accept it, both parties, because they both don't have any strings attached with others before and live a pretty free lifestyle."

I nodded, finding his words to be true. Quil and Claire, now along with Brady and Joey, were a bit different because of the age gap. Then, Leah and Cole are out of the conversation because they aren't considered 'imprint's to each other.

"I know you have trouble dealing with it, and I know why. Sam does too but I don't think he really likes to admit it. You both are so ignorant sometimes. I mean, you like to be that way. Its like a problem comes along and you deal with it halfway and then shove the rest off to the side to either forget about it or deal with it later to blow up at each other with. But when it's something with the Pack, we have your guys' full attention. You and Sam mean a lot to us," Seth stated, "and we hate when you guys get like this. Imprinting is a hard thing to accept and I want you to know its okay to be mad and upset."

I wished the tears away from my eyes that were pooling and I kissed Seth's cheek.

"Life is going to be hard, but I'm here and will stick around for you," Seth added.

"You, my brother, are way to sweet," I stated wiping away a falling tear.

"Yea, I'm your brother all right, speaking of which, when are our parents going to seal their knot?" Seth chuckled.

"Soon I hope," I said rolling my eyes. Sue and Charlie were stuck like glue but neither of them liked to admit it and always felt like they should walk on eggshells when it came to us kids. In all honesty, Seth, Leah, and I were all really cool with it. I couldn't wait for the day they were my real siblings and I wanted Charlie, my father who I loved, to be truly happy.

"maybe we should sit them down," Seth pitched. I chuckled at the thought.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry again. Did you want to come with or stay here?"

"I don't know," I sulked.

"Well, I can take Liam back if you want. That way you can make a quick escape."

I bit my lip thinking about it. That would be the easy way wouldn't it?

"No, I'll come with," I said. Seth helped me up, since I still had Liam in my arms and we walked back together. The fire was already lit, roaring in life as it burnt the wood from the forest. Sam was standing, talking with Leah and Jake near there, when we came back to join the party. All heads were turned to Seth, Liam and I. Paul approached us first, worrying about his son.

"Don't worry, he's just had an emotional day," I told the father as I slipped his boy carefully out of my arms. Suddenly they felt really empty and light. I wasn't sure if I liked the feeling. Seth put a hand on my shoulder, silently telling me he was going to get food, so I smiled and nodded.

"Thanks Bells, I don't know what we would do without you," Paul said holding his sleeping son.

"Not a problem Paul, just keep him close okay? With your heart I mean, he's a caring kid. Sometimes I wonder how he does it," I admitted while sticking my hands in my back pockets. Paul smiled at me and kissed his son's head.

"I will Bells."

On that note, I turned to my fiancé who was staring at me, knowingly debating in his head if it was the right move to approach me or not. Jake and Leah stared at me too, I think still wondering what was going on (either that or they were checking up on me). Slowly, I gravitated my way towards them, keeping my stare even with Sam. As we were in arms length of each other, I wrapped myself against his body and sighed against his chest. My eyes closed, feeling that warm sensation of his presence and love enfold my body and soon his arms came around me, lungs exhaling a breath.

"Whatever we are fighting about, can we just put it on hold for right now?" I asked.

"Yea Baby, we can do that," he mumbled while kissing my head. As my eyes fluttered open again, I found Leah and Jake had disappeared.

"I love you Sam," I mumbled, snuggling into him further.

"I love you too Bella," he said softly.

* * *

><p>The warm flames danced against my face as Sam and I stood across from each other, the flaming wood of the bon fire separating us.<p>

"Bella and Sam," Billy began, standing in the neutral middle of our sides to face not just us but everyone else. Our family had gathered around in a circle beside us, again facing Billy as he spoke.

"Your ways of getting here have been different and your ways of being with each other have been hard," he spoke. Both Sam and I glanced at each other in between the dancing flames. "And we acknowledge all of the hardships you have faced, and will continue to face," he said. Both Sam and I slowly turned our attention back to Billy as he continued to speak. "The gods of fate have brought you together, but it is you two, and you two alone who have created love for each other. I have watched you both grow up and been amazed at what I have seen. Sam who leads the La Push Pack, has been blessed with the company and cooking of Bella, who stands with the alpha of this tribe."

We all laughed as he added my cooking skills into the mix, that was my uncle for you. "And Bella, who has been blessed with the warmth and strength of Sam Uley."

I smiled at Sam, and back to Billy. The elder was surprisingly looking at me. "Her taking her place at the Alpha's side, being the alpha's mate," he clarified, "has not only been a big impact in her life, but a big decision on her part. I've seen your struggles Bella," he said, "and I've seen the warmth in your heart. You give so much to others, especially this tribe. We are your family, just like Sam is now yours," he spoke. "We stick by you, and Sam, with everything in our being and power. You both are destined to be with each other," he spoke turning his attention back to everyone. I internally cringed at his choice of words at the end. "Our hopes and blessings are with you both- as you make yourself a symbol to this Pack. Strong leaders for a strong couple. Congratulations you two, we are very happy for you both," he said. Everyone clapped and cheered, but I knowingly felt Sam's stare bore into me. Turning to face it, I nodded to him and then was hit with hugs and kisses.

"We love you Bella," Kim said hugging me.

"Thank you Kim, I love you too," I laughed. She, along with some of the other guys' imprints was teary eyed.

"We really value you Bella. We want to guide the guys, especially our men, like you do," Sarah said. I raised my eyebrow at this. "Don't look so surprised, your pretty strong and wise when it comes to all this stuff," Andrea said hugging me.

"Well, thanks," I laughed again, trying to hide my blush.

"Honestly Bell, you really do make the new people welcome," Cole said stepping out from all the girls to congratulate me again.

"Aww Cole," I joked.

"Yea yea," he laughed watching as his girlfriend stepped up to hug me.

"I don't know what happened today, and I'm not sure if I want to, but you deserve happiness. You have helped everyone through so many things, that everything Billy said was true. I wish you the best, for anything and everything. Just tell me when I need to beat Sam's ass and we'll get it done," she joked. We all laughed and I nodded, hugging her again.

"Thank you."

"Of course Sis," she winked. Charlie blushed, while Sue awkwardly laughed behind me. I knew Leah called me that since the parent's were around so I couldn't help but feel bad for them.

"Bella, congratulation again. I am so happy for you dear," Sue said, holding me in a tight hug. "Thank you Sue," I smiled.

"Bells," My dad said wrapping his arms around me. "Yea dad?" I smiled.

"love you kid," he said simply, as he tried to think of what was best to say. My chest felt all warm and tingly, while my smile spread. "I love you too dad. And thanks, for letting me come back here and stuff. I'm glad I got to be here."

"Glad you still wanted to come back Bella," he said reminiscing on old times with me.

After all of the hugs were done for both Sam and I, I went over to Billy to thank him for his kind words.

"No thanks needed Bella," he said, "I'm just glad to see you moving on with life. I know that losing Sam was hard and being with him is as equally challenging, but you're strong. I'm glad to see you working through everything and being there for the Pack."

I smiled and hugged the man. "Sam is always going to be there for you, and that's not because of the imprint, it's just who he is- a kind soul. He loves you Bella Swan, and I know you sometimes have trouble letting people in, but he's that man you want to agree to open up to," Billy advised.

"I'll try sir," I smiled.

"Exactly what we both want to hear," Billy said smiling behind me to Sam. Turning around I found my man. Wrapping my arms around his neck as he approached me, Billy was now forgotten and I started into Sam's eyes.

"I know I already said it, and told you I would forget about it, but I'm sorry. And I love you, with everything I am."

"I know," I spoke, " I am too. Let's just not fight anymore?"

"Sounds perfect," he said kissing my lips.

"And Bells?" he said pulling away.

"Yea?" I responded breathless.

"You'll meet my dad," he said memorizing my face.

Easily, I could have protested, saying it was fine and it didn't mean anything, but it did. Something inside of me was still bothered I had never met or been able to picture the man who mostly raised Sam, so I just nodded and leaned up to kiss him again, "okay," I whispered.


	24. Chapter 24

It had been a few weeks since the engagement bon fire. Sam and I were back on good terms and almost everyone was happy. Brady was getting closer to Joey, but just as we all suspected, the poor kid was working for the girl's company by her father putting the teen to work. Many times Brady would be sleeping on our couch after dinner. He would run patrols every other morning, go visit Joey, get put to work by her father (he was putting on an extension of his house by himself so he warped Brady into helping him) and then would spend time with the Pack or his brother and his family. It was interesting and I felt bad for the pup, he seemed over exhausted.

"Let me come with you," I begged Brady who stopped by for lunch before going to see his imprint.

"Why?" he wondered.

"I want to meet her," I smiled. Brady narrowed his eyes at me, "okay and get away from this wedding planning. Alice, Sue, and Letty are driving me crazy. Not to mention the girls," I grumbled. He let out a laugh and nodded. Not only since that time that Jake threw us the party was Brady busy, but so was I. I had cooking, cleaning, a music studio to run, songs to write, a Pack to take care of, and a wedding to plan. Alice had been bombarding me with plans and options that I felt like I could drown. That's where everyone else came in. When Sam let it slip one day at dinner that she was helping me, all of the women jumped at the opportunity to help me too. I shot my man a glare and swore I wouldn't talk to him for day. Unfortunately I caved and just went a night without feeding him.

Kim, Sarah, and Letty, were obsessed with getting me a dress soon, while Andrea and Sue were continuously pushing on what type of flowers to get and napkin arrangements to pick. I wanted to just let them do it all but I was only getting married once and wanted to do this myself.

"Hey, where are you going?" Sam asked as he trotted down the stairs. I was packing up a basket full of muffins for the new members of our community I was about to meet. I slapped Sam's hand away as he went to take a muffin from the basket

"I'm going to meet, Joey, Brady's imprint and her father."

"What about the wedding plans?" Sam wondered. All of the girls were supposed to come over today and I was going to video chat Rose and Alice at the same time too. I narrowed my eyes at him as he smirked a bit. He enjoyed all the pain I was going through with them. They were speeding along the wedding, something he liked because I wasn't doing so.

"They can start without me, all knows they already did," I grumbled. His laughter rumbled in his chest and he kissed my temple.

"Alright, have fun, be safe," he said walking to the door.

"You're on Patrol all day today right?" I wondered.

"Yep," he said, "so don't wait up."

Nodding, I watched him leave, and Brady get up from the stool at the counter to drive us to his imprints house.

* * *

><p>Scott, the father was already hammering on the house as we pulled up. He had short brown hair that was swished to the side. Joey, who was playing with her toys on the lawn immediately looked up and ran for Brady as he got out of the car. Brady swooped her up in his arms, smiling as he hugged her.<p>

"Bella, this is Joey, Joey, this is my friend Bella," he said introducing me to the little girl.

"Hi Joey, it's very nice to meet you, you're so pretty," I complimented. Brady's imprint had light brown hair like her father and dark green eyes. Her hair was mid length and straight unlike mine. She blushed, setting a rose color to her cheeks and leaned forward taking a curly lock of my hair.

"You're pretty too," she said. Smiling, I talked with her a little more before her dad, Scott, came and joined us.

"Hi, I'm Bella, Brady's friend," I said introducing myself before the young wolf could.

"Scott, Joey's father, nice to meet you," he said shaking my hand firmly. This man was pretty cute too. Muscles, tan skin, pearly white teeth. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he could have been in our Pack too, well he was, but not a wolf.

"here, these are for you guys," I said handing him the basket. "I hope you like them, they came out of my over a few hours ago so they may be still a little warm."

"Wow, thanks," he said looking at them, "they look really good."

"Any time," I smiled, blushing a little.

"You blush like my daughter," he laughed as I followed him into the house.

"Yea, its horrible," I laughed bowing my face.

"Nah, it's cool. I always tell Joey it's a good thing and never be embarrassed."

I bit my lip and nodded.

"So Joey, she's pretty and very cute. I can't believe how calm and relaxed your five year old is," I said looking out to Brady and Joey, who were playing with dolls.

"Yea, she's more like that when your friend is around, but she is a good kid."

"He is too," I said having this instinct to protect and right Brady for the good person he is. Scott turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "I mean, look, I didn't come here to tell you that or convince you, I just…I don't know, I guess I have this instinct to show you that you can trust Brady. I love him like my own."

"I get it," Scott said pouring us both a glass of lemonade. "I guess its hard since I know all of the facts and what will happen when she will get older, but there's nothing I can do about it," he sighed. I said a quick thank you as he handed me my drink.

"I know I work the kid hard, but in a way, it makes it easier for me to get to know him. I thought he would have stood up to me or quit all the work by now, but he hasn't given up."

"I don't think he ever will," I said watching the wolf and his imprint again, "Brady really cares for the girl, I think that goes even without the imprint. He is a kind soul and he enjoys her company. Plus, he isn't one to just quit something. Brady's pretty compassionate and takes whatever is thrown at him."

"I envy him for that," Scott pitched in.

"Me too," I agreed with a laugh, "that kid can adapt so easily."

"How long have you known him?" Scott wondered.

"I moved here almost 5 years ago, so since then, but I have gotten to know him better with time. There was a period where I took him and his brother under my wing because it seemed like the right thing to do- that was when I really got to know him."

"His brother Collin right?" Scott asked sipping his drink, "he talks about him to Joey. I think he's brought him up to me once or twice to me too," the father added.

"Yea," I said, "Collin is a little more reserved and shy unlike Brady. Brady takes things much easier and is so open hearted. Collin is cautious and takes things more inward."

"Is my daughter safe with Brady?" Scott hesitantly asked after a few pauses of silence.

"I believe so, but that's me coming from the standpoint of knowing Brady."

"That's why I wanted to ask," Scott said. I raised an eyebrow and turned to the father who was sneaking glances at me. "I don't know Brady that well, as I said. And I don't know where he comes from or what his background is like. You showing up provides me a bit of comfort," he said.

"glad I could help," I smiled, "but I mean, you could ask Brady himself. He is a pretty open book when it comes to his life and you're always welcome to Pack events- you and your daughter both."

"thank you," he said kindly.

"Of course," I chirped.

"So what is Joey like?" I wondered as we went back outside.

"She's more like her mother than me," he said sadly. "She's very kind, always warm and mostly shy. She likes to color and sometimes draw, which makes me think she's very imaginative. She has her mothers eyes and smile, but I think she has my nose and laugh," he said. I grinned.

"Joey is pretty independent, and I don't know where she got that from. But she also can be loving to the extent you wonder that if the independence is an act." I listened, very intrigued. "She has her own personality. The most random things can crack her up," her father laughed, "and my daughter is pretty fickled. Her style makes me wonder if she is really my kid, but it's what she likes," he said. Glancing over at Joey, I did find her style funny. She had on a pink dress up tutu, with a matching feathery plastic crown. The plastic beads around her neck were purple, blue and orange and her shirt was white short sleeved with a rainbow heart on the middle front. Her pants were a light blue and her shoes were light up green.

Scott climbed up on the ladder, working on whatever part of the house this was going to be. Brady soon got up, in Joey's protest and went to help him.

"it's okay Brady," Scott said.

"No, I can help," the pup said. I smiled at the two, and then looked down, surprised to see Joey standing next to me.

"Hi," I smiled kneeling down.

"Will you play tea party with me?" she wondered.

"Sure," I smiled. Grabbing my hand, she dragged me to where Brady and her were playing and then showed me her dolls. There was a lamb with matted down worn out fur, a unicorn that looked like most of the stuffing was missing from it (except for the spear on its head which made the poor animal dive head first into the ground), and a dog that had an eye missing.

She poured me some tea, along with the rest of her animals and then stood up to grab me a feathery pink boa. After wrapping it around my neck she sat back down and hummed a song.

"What are you singing," I wondered.

"A song my daddy made me," she answered pouring me some more imaginary tea. I raised my eyebrow. "Can I hear it?"

she glanced up at me. "daddy!" she called.

"Yea Joe?" he responded, quickly pausing to hammer something. "Will you sing your song?"

he glanced at her and then me, who was still raising an eyebrow. With a pleading look from his daughter, he nodded and came down from the ladder. "Let me go get my guitar," he murmured to Joey as he kissed her head. Going back inside the house, I saw Brady get down from the house and seemed pretty curious.

Scott came back out, taking a seat on the grass. Soon, he began strumming the strings on his guitar and playing a beautiful melody.

**(**_**"You And Me****" ****by Lifehouse)**_

_What day is it? And in what month?  
>This clock never seemed so alive<br>I can't keep up and I can't back down  
>I've been losing so much time<em>

_'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do_  
><em>Nothing to lose<em>  
><em>And it's you and me and all other people<em>  
><em>And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you<em>

_One of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right_  
><em>I'm tripping on words<em>  
><em>You've got my head spinning<em>  
><em>I don't know where to go from here<em>

_'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do_  
><em>Nothing to prove<em>  
><em>And it's you and me and all other people<em>  
><em>And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you<em>

_There's something about you now_  
><em>I can't quite figure out<em>  
><em>Everything she does is beautiful<em>  
><em>Everything she does is right<em>

_'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do_  
><em>Nothing to lose<em>  
><em>And it's you and me and all other people<em>  
><em>And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you<em>  
><em>and me and all other people with nothing to do<em>  
><em>Nothing to prove<em>  
><em>And it's you and me and all other people<em>  
><em>And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you<em>

_What day is it?_  
><em>And in what month?<em>  
><em>This clock never seemed so alive<em>

I was shocked he could sing, and the song was so beautiful. As we all sat around listening to him, I couldn't help but be mesmerized. Joey was one lucky girl for having a father like this. When he was near the end and soon slowed down to a stop, he glanced up at us and we all clapped.

"That was amazing," I said.

"Thank you," he smiled, showing me pearly white teeth.

"I didn't know you could sing, or play," Brady said. "Bella does both too," he said.

Joey stood up from the ground, kissed her daddy and pulled Brady away to finish playing tea party.

"You sing too?" Scott asked.

"Yea, I actually used to work for a music company and produced music for other artists."

"Oh like who?" he wondered getting up with his guitar.

"I'm good friends with Mandy Moore," I laughed, "and I've written a few things for Jason Mraz, Selena Gomez, Tonight Alive, Paramore, B.O.B, Hilary Duff, Christina Perri, and now the Rascal Flatts, well maybe them," I smiled. His face was shocked, he was so stunned I think I could have laid a finger on him and he would have fallen over. "Yea, there are quite a few music artists I know, but I haven't really been in the business for a few months, I took a break. I do run a studio in Port Angeles though, you're always welcome to stop by."

"Wow, that, wow," was all he stutter out. I let out another laugh.

"So you produce your own music? Do you have people help you with other things?" he asked.

"Well, I produce the melody too, but sometimes the guys will help me out. Our friends Embry and Quil have helped me on some things. They like to play drums and just mess around with some instruments."

"That's awesome," he said putting his guitar to lean on the side of the house.

"If you ever want to be in my place, I know a guy. The job can be fairly demanding though," I warned. He shrugged, "the money is good though isn't it?"

"Very," I said.

He sighed, "I don't know."

"Are you tight on that type thing?" I wondered.

"Somewhat," he said. "I have a job at the hospital, but it can be long hours and it's hard with Joey. I like to see her more now with Lucy being gone."

"Lucy was your wife?" I clarified. He nodded, "yea."

"Well Scott, I can help you out if you let me. You like music, do you teach? My studio in Port Angeles could help. I'm not there as often as I really can be and Seth, a Pack brother of Brady's usually helps me run it, but it's hard sometimes. So I could really use another human to help me with the work. It pays well, I promise," I said.

"That's great but I don't need to impose. Teaching music, gosh that would be cool but I'm sure that's busy too."

"Honestly, it would be great to have you. It's hard to keep that up with this type of life if you know what I mean," I said referring to the werewolf thing, "And the job isn't really busy. I mean we teach lessons to other but you can schedule them around whatever schedule you have. We can go over pay and stuff later, but honestly, please consider it. Brady and Collin used to work there too. Well, Collin still does but Brady is here," I smiled.

"Thank you Bella," he said really taking my offer into consideration.

"Of course, you're family now," I smiled. Scott and I walked slowly towards the back of the house, where he was working. Eventually after talking a bit more he went back to working, climbing up the ladder.

"Oh, and Bella," he called stopping himself, "I like your boa," he smiled. Glancing down I let out an embarrassed laugh and shook my head as I looked too him. "thanks," I called out. Going back over to the couple on the ground, I saw Brady wearing a few of the plastic beaded necklaces Joey was wearing earlier.

My phone beeped as I sat down and I saw I had a text. It was from Sam. Brady was late for his patrol and he wanted to know what was going on.

"Brady, you're late for your patrol, go on," I said.

"Oh, that right, I forgot I switched with Collin so he could go into the studio today," Brady groaned. Getting up, he gave Joey a smile and quick hug, saying he had to leave. The doe eyed girl looked sad as she realized all of her company would be leaving.

"I'll come back again" Brady said as his imprint was sad.

"What about Bella?" she asked shyly. Brady looked to me. "Sure," I shrugged.

"Will you come tomorrow?" she asked Brady. He nodded.

"You know, you two are always welcome to our side of the land too. Brady comes to my house a lot," I said talking to Joey as Scott reproached. He must have seen we were leaving.

"Okay," Joey sighed.

"Thanks for having us Scott," I smiled. Slowly unraveling the boa from my neck, I wrapped it around her, "beautiful," I commented with a smile. She blushed and I smiled even further.

"Thank you both for coming. Brady, I'm sure I will see you tomorrow," Scott said.

"Of course," Brady said shaking the man's hand.

"And Bella, thank you so much," Scott said hugging me.

"Anytime," I chirped, "and please, think about your new job offer. No interview or resume required," I smiled.

He nodded. Pulling Brady along, we hopped into the car and left the lands.

"She's cute," I commented to him.

"She's my imprint," he grinned.

"Scott is nice too. I'm glad he knows everything and approves Brady, I'm happy for you."

"thanks Bella," he said. "I think you guys really hit it off. He's a good guy- really looking out for his daughter and stuff."

"But then again, so am I," Brady added jokingly. I laughed a bit.

"Is he considering the job in Port Angeles?" Brady wondered.

"I hope so," I said. "I guess he works at the hospital, but hours are bad and stuff so he is torn with that."

"I know, I offered to watch Joey when he isn't around and stuff but he was still hesitant. I'm glad you came and thought of that. I didn't think much of it."

"See, it's always good to bring me around," I joked bumping shoulders with him. As we approached the house, he jumped out of the car.

"Bye Bella!"

"Bye Brady! Be safe!" I called as he ran to the woods. Walking into my open door house, I found all of the girls in my living room with Alice and Rose already on the laptop.

"Hey you guys," I said setting my keys down on the counter.

"Bella! Finally!" the imprints called. I rolled my eyes, plopping down on the space on the couch they created for me.

"How was visiting Brady's imprint?" Sarah wondered.

"She is a cute one," I commented.

"What about the dad?" Letty wondered.

"He is super nice, very good father," I smiled.

"Oh?" Andrea wondered intrigued.

"He looks Quilute for sure, and can play music. He accepts Brady and knows of wolves, so all that makes its easier," I commented, "and he works at the hospital."

"Doctor?" Kim asked.

"I heard there was going to be someone new," Sue said, "a resident."

"Well, there you go," I said.

"Sounds like a man I would like to meet," Andrea joked. All of us girls laughed. Her and Embry were having a bit of a rocky relationship this past week. For some reason he was being a controlling butt head, according to her.

"so anyways, what did I miss?" I wondered.

"You're wedding dress should be there!" Alice said. I groaned a bit.

"It's at my house," Sue said.

"Bella it's so pretty, see," Alice said holding up a magazine. The dress was long and scrunched up to one side. The bottom was bubbled up and it was one shoulder, with two flowers on the side. _**(A/N: check out profile for better description- sorry not too good with that.)**_

"Please don't tell me that a designer," I groaned. "oh Bella, I have it covered," Alice said.

"Cost wasn't what I was thinking Alice, I don't need anything special."

"Too bad girly," Rose smiled.

"You're going to try it on tonight, that way we can see if it fits and you like it."

I groaned again.

"Another topic at hand would be flowers, and guest list," Andrea said.

"Lets not forget the wedding day," Kim concluded. Everyone 'ooo'ed in agreement.

"Well, I don't know when," I said.

"That's why I brought him in," Leah's voice rang. In came Sam looking slightly confused.

"I was warped into taking a few hours off his patrol. You owe me Uley," Leah said as she said a quick hello and then walked off.

"Hey," I smiled, "welcome to the torture."

He chuckled and everyone made some more room for him. As Sam said hello to everybody, including the Cullen's, he picked me up and sat me on his lap. A quick kiss was planted on my cheek and he wondered what was going on.

Letty pulled out a book from her back and my eyes grew.

"Where the heck did you get that thing?" I asked.

Everyone laughed, including Sam who was chuckling.

"The girls' and I put it together, it's a planner for your wedding."

"Holy crap," I muttered. The thing was like a thick dictionary. It had ever detail with little news and magazine papers stuck inside there for me to look at. Along with that were names and numbers for companies and stuff. Also, there was a note pad, pen, and check mark stickers.

"You can't be serious," I said.

"Oh, we are very," Sue said.

"Save me," I whimpered to the man behind me. He laughed and kissed my lips. I buried my head in his neck after that, knowing the torture was just about to begin. Sam caressed my arm with his light touches as he held me close.

"So why am I here?" he wondered to the ladies.

"You two need to set a date," Sarah smiled.

"And guest list," Kim said.

"Okay, so when did you want to get married?" Sam asked me in simplicity. Everyone laughed and I smiled.

"I don't know, how about you?"

"well, its almost august, so what about end of September or early October?" he asked me.

"That soon?" I said surprised.

"Oh that's perfect!" Alice squealed. Glancing at her and back to Sam quickly, I felt unsure. "That's kind of coming up."

"did you want to wait for a while? Maybe a year?" Sam wondered. I bit my lip, a year sounded far away but a two months sounded quick.

"Bella, we can wait," he said. I smiled up at him, he was so sweet. As I debated with myself, I wondered why I was holding back. We had been engaged for almost a month and we had been dating for over 3 years.

"September is fine, but end of September okay?" I said staring into his eyes.

All of the girls squealed and I laughed. Sam smiled at me, his eyes brightening as he moved to kiss my lips softly. "You sure?" he mumbled quietly. I nodded.

"Okay, this is great!" Andrea smiled.

"See Bella! It's a good thing you told me right away! You have your dress an everything!" Alice said. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Oops," Alice said.

"You do?" Sam asked looking at me.

"So it appears," I said.

"Do I get to see it?" he asked nuzzling in the side of my face.

"Nope," Kim pitched. The women laughed while Sam sulked.

"So who's all coming?" Rose asked.

"The Pack," I said.

"You guys," Sam said to the Cullens.

"My Aunt Betty," I told Sue who was writing this down.

"My dad," Sam said. The room went quiet and Sue paused in her writing. I paused for a second and turned to raise an eyebrow at him. Say what?

"He should see his son get married to the love of his life. And he can meet you before that. I know Jared and Kim are in the process of throwing us a surprise engagement dinner," he said.

Kim let out a huff and we turned to her, "I am going to neuter that mutt," she growled. We all laughed, Sam's eyes slightly wide and guilty.

"Well, thank you Kim," I smiled. She nodded sadly.

"I just wish it was a surprise."

"Don't let me ruin it," Sam said,

"I think you already did baby," I laughed at him. He gave my side a pinch and nipped at my shoulder.

"I just wanted to surprise you. That Jared…"she rumbled out.

"He didn't mean to. Honestly I was confused but it's okay," Sam said.

"Back to the matter at hand…" Sarah said directing the group.

"So your dad Sam?" Sue asked. He nodded. She quickly wrote it down.

"Anyone else?" Letty wondered.

"Imprints, their family, anyone else who wants to come," I rolled off. Everyone laughed.

"So that means…" Sue wondered.

"Well, Cole, his parents," everyone raised an eyebrow at that, " I know Leah wont particularly like it since they don't get along with her, but I think that once they see her and see that their son is happy and a part of our family, they will get some peace. Maybe inviting them will help."

"Okay," Sue said agreeing with it.

"Good luck telling her that," Andrea said.

"Yea, thanks," I sighed.

"Who else?" Sarah wondered.

"Scott, Joey," I said, "Umm…if Sam's dad is coming, he should bring whoever he wants to feel comfortable," I spoke.

Sue glanced at me hesitantly and Sam kissed my cheek.

"Are you going to invite any music artists?" Kim wondered.

I shrugged, "I guess I could, who knows if they will come though."

"Well, you can always try Bella," Sue pitched. I nodded, "alright, then Mandy Moore, Jesse McCartney, Hilary Duff, maybe Marie Digby- I know Paul liked her," I laughed.

"Anyone else?" Sue asked.

I bit my lip.

"Bella?" Sam wondered as I went quiet.

"Do I invite Phil?"

_**A/N: How did you like it? Did you enjoy Scott and Joey? Should Bella invite Phil?**_


	25. Chapter 25

Everyone turned to me surprised.

"Phil?" they wondered.

"Renee's husband, my step dad. Do I invite him?" I wondered.

"If you would like…" Sue said.

I sighed and laid back against Sam. I wanted to invite him but a part of me didn't. After Renee died, he stepped out of my life, making me handle everything myself. I was pretty old, but I was so shook up from what I saw. So was that a true father? How he acted…did that give him a right? I mean, we were close, but not that close. He was cool, I approved, but did that mean he could waltz back into my life here? Would he even want to? My eyebrows furrowed as my thoughts trailed off.

"What is it Bella?" Rose asked reading my face.

Nothing I just-...I just realized my mom won't be there," I spoke. The air seemed to have sucked out any noise possible. I swear if the house was going to collapse you wouldn't hear our calls.

Sam squeezed my hands as he gathered them in his. My eyebrows furrowed even more as I was trying to figure out how to feel about it. My mom wouldn't be there to see me in my wedding dress or smile at me as I walked down the aisle. She wouldn't even be there to help me get ready or tell me I was a lucky girl.

"Bella, how about we continue this later okay?" Sue asked putting a hand on my thigh.

"No I mean, its okay," I said as her contact with my skin pulled me out of my thoughts, " I just…thought it was weird," I said. Pushing aside my feelings, I told Sue to add him to the list. Whether he deserved it or not, Phil was still part my father.

"Okay, well then Sam, you are free to leave," Andrea chirped.

He hesitantly held me close, wondering if it was best for him to leave. Nodding, I gave him a peck on the lips.

"Take care of my girl," Sam grunted as he got up to the ladies. Tentatively, he dropped my hand and leaned down for another kiss.

"Love you," he murmured against my lips.

"Love you too, be safe."

"Always," he said and hustled off with a goodbye to everyone else.

"Bella?" Rose asked.

"Hmm?" I wondered looking to the laptop.

"You okay?"

"Yea," I said forcing a smile on my face. "What else?" I sighed clapping my hands together.

"Flowers," Andrea smiled.

We decided to go flower picking tomorrow, along with places to have the wedding.

"Maybe Sam should be included on that?" I asked Sue.

"If you would like," she said scribbling some notes.

"Well Bella, you didn't have a place in mind?" Sarah wondered.

"Not really, I haven't planned anything."

The imprints looked at me wide eyed. "What?" I wondered.

"I think I have had my wedding planned out for months," Sarah said.

"Mine has been ever since I met Jared," Kim giggled.

"I'm not that crazy," Andrea muttered. Letty, Sue, and I laughed the girls as some of them blushed.

"Bella, how about the after party on the beach?" Alice asked.

"Sure," I shrugged. "I think Sam will like that too."

"Good," Letty smiled.

"Did you want to get married in a church?" Andrea asked. I shrugged, I don't know where I could picture myself getting married. Was I a traditional type of girl? Or an outside girl? Maybe do something different…

"I guess I could see a church, yea," I said thinking it over. Alice squealed in excitement.

"Let me guess, you already found one near here."

She nodded vigorously, "two to be exact."

We all laughed again and had Sue write down the addresses.

"Bella Bean!" Emmett called over the webcam. I looked behind Rose and smiled, "hey Emmett! I miss you!"

"Miss you too! How you doin'?" he wondered.

"Good," I concluded.

"Emmett! Go away, we are planning Bella's wedding!" Alice hollered. The big teddy bear like vampire's eyes went wide and he said a quick goodbye to me.

"Bella," Alice said sweetly.

"What?" I wondered cautiously.

"Can I do your make up for your special day?"

"Of course," I smiled breathing in relief. Her questions and ideas were always a bit crazy. "Ahh! Thank you!" she shrieked.

"Does that mean I can do your hair?" Rose asked me.

"As long as it isn't some crazy updo," I smiled. She nodded and shined her bright pearly teeth at me.

"Oh Bella!" Esme said coming into the picture. "and what are you girls doing?"

"Wedding planning," I said.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Mind if I join?"

"Of course," I smiled. She pulled up a seat and listened to us talk.

"So what else?" I wondered.

We picked out and planned so many things. I had a date to plan the invitations, the food menu, the bridesmaid dresses and even shopping for the rings. I described to Alice and Rose what I was thinking for the after party- strings of lights, a bon fire, light sounds of music. They said they would have it all planned and drawn out for me to approve. As crazy as it was, I was glad to get this all done. I didn't need this hanging over my head, especially being so close to the actual wedding date.

When dinnertime rolled around I said goodbye to my vampire family and closed all the wedding books the imprints had brought with them. Sue and Letty wanted to treat us to dinner and I was all for it.

"So Bella, we were thinking after ward, you could try on your dress," Letty said. I nodded hesitantly. Thoughts of my mom hit me again and I felt somewhat depressed.

"You okay?" she asked with her arm wrapped around my shoulders, "yea," I smiled. So we quickly ate at some casual restaurant and were off to Sue's.

"Seth, you have to leave," Kim said.

"why?" he asked while sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Bella is going to try on her wedding dress," Sue said to her son.

"aw, mom, why can't I see it."

"Pack mind," Sarah reminded.

"I can keep it a secret," he pleaded. I almost caved but all the girl's said no.

"sorry Seth," I sighed.

"It's alright Bells," he said giving me a quick hug as I walked him to the door. "I'm sure you'll look beautiful."

"Thanks," I blushed, shutting the door as he left. Walking further into the house, I saw Sue had the box already open. I went wide-eyed, staring at the beautiful material. Taking in a breath, I quickly stripped and got help putting it on.

"Woah," Sarah said.

"Bella," Sue and Letty said with teary eyes. "Is it okay?" I asked all of them.

"You look gorgeous," Kim said.

Andrea stepped back a few feet and took a picture, "for Alice, Rose and Esme," she smiled. I nodded and felt my heart pounding in my chest. "Can I see it…the picture I mean?"

She nodded and showed me. As I looked at the screen I was so shocked I almost fell over. That was me? I looked like that in this dress? Woah.

"I told you!" Alice said as she came on speakerphone with Kim. "Its perfect!"

I nodded and pushed down my emotions.

"How does it feel?" Sue wondered to me. I moved around a bit and shrugged. "Its okay, but it's long. And with me, I will trip," I said. Everyone laughed, "and it's thick so I might be hot at the beach."

"We can get you a different one if you don't like it Bella," Letty said.

"No, I do- like the dress I mean," I told everyone before Alice could say a word, "I just don't know about wearing it the whole night."

"How about we shop for a shorter one? Something more casual and cheap. That way you can change after you become Mrs. Sam Uley," Kim grinned. I smiled and somewhat beamed at the name.

"Alright," I said. After that, I changed back out of the dress and into my normal clothes.

"We need shoes!" Andrea said after we all began to lay around.

"We can get you some colored heels, ones that match the bridesmaid colored dresses," Sarah said thinking it over.

"Perfect," I said tiredly.

"I'll drive you home Bella," Sue said.

"You don't have to," I said, "I'll have Sam pick me up when he's done."

"Nonsense," she said waving off the thought, "I have to grocery shop anyways. Letty, girls, lock up when you leave," she said guiding me along with her.

* * *

><p>We hopped into Sue's car with the radio softly playing. It had been a long day, full of wedding planning and chit chatting. I wonder what was in store next.<p>

"Hey Sue?" I said softly.

"Yes Bella?" she said.

"I think of you as my mom too," I stated. "You and Charlie have grown real close and you've given me two siblings. I just want you to know, with this whole Renee thing…you're better than her."

"Oh Bella," she said tearing up. She pulled into the driveway. "You are too sweet."

"I'm just saying the truth," I said shyly. "You are more like a mother to me than Renee ever was. And I know I was upset today, but I want you to know that you hold a place in my heart as my mom too."

She smiled and leaned over to hug me. "You mother holds a special title. She raised you for a while and even though her definition of 'raise' might not be the same as mine, you lived with her for a while. It's okay to be upset that she won't be there for you on your special day. But thank you Bella, for telling me that. I think of you like my daughter too."

"I'll see you tomorrow Sue, and thanks for the ride," I said shutting the door. With a wave, I unlocked the house doors and went inside.

* * *

><p>For a while I sat in silence on the couch, re-pondering the thoughts I had shoved to the side. Renee wasn't going to be there and that just weirded me out. I remember all of those times where she would tell me fairytales and say she couldn't wait for me to get married. She would be at the end of first pew, watching me as my dad gave me away.<p>

"Bella?" a voice called. Glancing up, I saw Jake.

"Hey Jake," I smiled, sitting up.

"You okay?" he wondered.

"I'm getting asked that a lot today," I stated.

"Sam's worried about you," he said coming to sit next to me. "How is the wedding planning going?"

"Its crazy," I said. "I don't know how people get married more than once." He laughed and wrapped an arm around me.

"How are you holding up with your mom thing?" he asked.

I sighed and melted further in his shoulder. "It sucks, and I can't help thinking back to all those times when she was in my life. It's hard to think she wont be there- weddings were really her type of thing," I chuckled. He laughed and kissed my head.

"Well, you'll still have her in your heart," he said.

"I know, but it's not the same," I said, "She physically, wont be there to see me. And I never really thought of it before. She's never met Sam or heard of Sam. It just bothers me that I can't connect him in my life when I still had my mom."

Jake was silent.

"But then again, if Phil comes, it will partially tie him to my past," I grumbled.

"Yea, Phil," Jake said. "Think he will come?"

"Maybe," I shrugged, "we were close when Renee was alive, and hopefully he will put whatever emotions he had or has aside and see me get married- I'm only doing it once you know," I joked.

"I think I want to ask Sarah. Not now, but soon," Jake said prosperly.

"I think that's a good idea," I said thoughtfully.

"Have you met Sam's dad?" I asked my best friend as we were making random conversation.

"Nope," he said. "All really know about the man is he left Sam's life when Sam took alpha. It was too hard with two alpha males in La Push."

"Think he regretted his decision?" I wondered to Jake.

"I would hope so," Jake said. "Sam's a pretty great guy- and I don't just say that because I am part of his 'cult'," Jake joked. "He was raised well for having so many challenges in his life."

"Why are you here Jake?" I asked, trying not to offend my friend. "I had time and wanted to check on you. Embry was fighting to go instead of me, but Sam allowed me," he grinned. I rolled my eyes. "I hadn't spent time with Embry in a while."

"He'll come around sooner or later," Jake reassured.

Soon after our random talk we watched a movie or two before he and I fell asleep on the couch. Sam woke us up both a while later when he came home from patrols and I groaned when the DVD was playing the menu music on repeat.

"See ya Jake. Thanks for today," I mumbled tiredly, thanking Sam as he shut off the TV.

"Of course Bells," he said kissing my forehead before leaving the house.

* * *

><p>"I heard you tried on your wedding dress last night," Sam said running his hands through my hair. We were sitting on the couch together, with my head in his lap as we waited for Letty and Kim to pick me up and start shopping.<p>

"And that kid thought he could stay in the room to see me with it on," I laughed. He smirked.

"Did Alice pick the right dress?" he wondered.

"Yes and no. Actually speaking of which, I was thinking a wedding in a church and afterward to the beach with everyone?"

"okay," he said simply.

"Is that okay with you? I don't want you to feel like it has to be that way."

"I like it Bella," he said to me.

"Okay," I breathe getting comfy again.

"So, how are you with your mother thoughts?'' he asked tentatively. "I know Jake came by to talk to you about it…"

"It's okay," I sighed. "Like I told Jake, it's weird to think about. But I guess I'm holding up."

"You can talk to me more about it if you ever want to," Sam said softly.

"I know," I said looking up at him, "and I probably will, but as for right now, it's just strange she's not here to go through all of this with me. There's no calling her or asking her on what to decide. I mean, I have Sue for that which is great cause she is more like a mom than Renee ever was to me, but there's something about Renee that I miss."

Sam stayed quiet, just weaving his hands through my hair. I was in fact glad he didn't say anything. There was nothing he could do or verbalize that would really make me feel better. He couldn't bring back my mom and I couldn't either. It was just the way of life I guess.

There was a honk outside and I sat up. "that's my queue," I told him.

"Of course, I'll see you later baby, have fun."

Giving me a long passionate kiss, I nodded and grabbed my things from the kitchen. "Keep your phone by you, you may have some decision to make too."

"Okay," he laughed.

I walked outside joining all of the girls who were already situated in the car. Let the craziness begin…

* * *

><p>I don't know why Sam didn't join me. As a matter of fact, I was cursing the man in my head for proposing to me right now. We had already stopped by the two churches, picking out which one to have our wedding at, and we even planned the date. October 5th. I know I said end of September but the only days the church that I picked was open for was September 8th and the 17th . Both of those I thought were too soon of dates, so we settled on October.<p>

But anyways, we had done the church, settled a date, went ring shopping, picked out the invitations and even found me a short, cheap white wedding dress for the after party that Alice also approved of. _**(check profile page again).**_ It was sweetheart neckline, strapless and white. It had this silver beading across my mid length and went a little above my knees. I thought it was really pretty, especially how the fabric was curved to my side in one area and went straight down the next.

Back to the matter at hand though, we were now flower shopping and the girls were going crazy. I wasn't sure the color I wanted my bridesmaid dresses to be, which hindered their flowering decisions but I wanted to wait for Leah. She was on double patrols today for all of the ones she had missing with Cole- and unfortunately they were only fair.

I, of course, could have asked for Sam to let her come with me instead but I felt like that was taking advantage of his power. So yet again, I was now cursing my fiancé in my head for letting me go with all of these crazy women. I think I was too involved with all of this estrogen. It wasn't normal for me to be hanging around all of these people in such enclosed areas.

"Bella! What about these?" Andrea said handing me a sample flower. They were gerbera daisies and not too expensive. That was another rule I laid down to everyone. I didn't feel like spending a bunch of money on flowers even though I didn't really have a budget (its not like I needed one). I didn't want to spend a ton of money on flowers that were soon to die a week later. So that was rule one; rule two was that there would be no roses. Roses were too classic and I felt like over used. So unless we really couldn't find anything I would have to cave and use them, but it was a last resort.

Nodding, I liked those and continued to search. We were at some outside flower market thing. It was family owned business, which made me like it even more. I liked the idea of giving someone else a profit who was just doing this type of thing to make a living and be happy- not some business or big company, that didn't really matter to me.

Stopping to check out these flowers, my eyes landed on here, long-stemmed wine-colored calla lilies. They were really pretty and I enjoyed their color.

"Those are pretty," Sue commented coming up beside me.

"yea, I like these. I think they would be a good color for my bridesmaids too."

"Nice thinking," She commented. As Letty gathered the girls again, I told her these were the flowers I wanted.

"So a bouquet of them?" Sarah asked.

"Bella, you need roses in there," Andrea added. I made a face.

"Bella, roses would look really pretty with them. It would full out the bouquet when you walk down the aisle," Kim said.

"Ladies," an older man, maybe in his 70s said coming up around us. He was wearing a blue jean jumper with a plaid shirt underneath. "anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, I would like to buy these for my wedding," I beamed. His face brightened. "Oh, well congratulations," he said.

"Thank you," I smiled. We talked prices briefly and the quantity. When it came back to the bouquet most of the girls were protesting again.

"So you don't want roses," the man, Jackson Leroy, who owned this place clarified as he listened to us females bicker.

"I feel like they are too over used in a wedding. I'm hesitant with them," I told the man with a bite to my lip.

"Well, I like to believe they are used so much in a wedding because they represent love. The thorns represent that the person's true love is strong, and has enduring passion. Now depending what color rose you chose from actually means different things, " he said with wiseness that reminded me of Uncle Billy.

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought they all meant love?"

"Oh no," Jackson laughed. "You are right that, that is what they symbolize for overall but each rose can mean something special. For example the red rose, which is bold and dramatic conveys respect and the creative spirit of love. Of course, it is also associated with romantic love. The yellow, take this one for example," he said moving us to the bucket of roses, "means friendship. Truly," he said squinting as he thought about it, "in Victorian times, it symbolized jealousy. Now though, it represents friendship, joy and even caring."

We all looked at the man surprised and I was happy everyone was now finally quiet. I had peace.

"May I continue?" Jackson asked, "I can get carried away with the insight of flowers and I don't mean to bore you lovely ladies."

"Oh you aren't," I said captivated. "It is amazing, I would love to hear more, if you are okay with that."

"Of course," he chuckled. He picked up the next flower. It was a pink rose. "These symbolize femininity and elegance. Now depending on the shade, they can also mean something. A deep pink conveys gratitude and appreciation, while a pale shade displays grace and gentleness, maybe even admiration and happiness."

I stared at the pink flower, wondering if it was really fitting enough to be in my wedding. "The white ones," Jackson Leroy continued, " signify truth and reverence, it sends a message of loyalty and says 'I am worthy of you.'" My eyebrows shot up and I liked that meaning. It fit. Sam and I were loyal, trying to work on truthfulness but we were always shocking each other and tried to be as worthy of each other as possible.

"by that look on your face young lady, I say I have just won you over," the owner joked. I laughed embarrassed and nodded, "I think so, but can you explain the rest?"

He smiled and nodded. "Orange roses, which are not too common here, symbolize enthusiasm and desire and then the lilac and purple ones, which I will admit are pretty rare here too, are thought to be almost mystical in nature. They hold the thought to be tied to enchantment. They express desire and even send a message of love at first sight."

My eyebrows raised again. That definitely fit Sam and I too.

"Bella Bella!" Rose said through web cam on Kim's phone. "Can we do both? Please? We can have the white ones in your wedding and the others at the after party? Please Bella, oh please?" she begged. Mr. Leroy laughed and I nodded, "okay Alice, but wont that all clash?"

"Oh Bella," she smiled, "you will have changed your dress, hair, and wiped off your make up. I'm sure we can pitch in a different flower color or two."

All of us laughing, I gave her the okay once again and she was off to talk with Rose and Esme some more.

As Sue took my card up to purchase the flowers for the wedding day, I stopped Jackson and asked him what those calla flowers that I picked out meant. "Well, I'm not surprised you picked them," he told me with a smile, "They indicate magnificence and beauty. Its a very traditional symbol of marriage, signifying it as a gift."

"Oh," I said shocked. That was pretty cool actually.

"You know, not many girls care to think about what their flower means to their wedding day, most people like what is pretty."

"I'm not most girls," I teased with a wink. He let out a deep chuckle and nodded. After flower shopping was done, I thanked Jackson Leroy and his wife Delia again, leaving with a smile on my face.


	26. Chapter 26

_**A/N: Happy Easter! (For all those that celebrate it). Here is another chapter as a treat for you guys! Review!**_

I still needed to pick out the cake, the dinner menu, my shoes and even my bridesmaid dresses. Ugh, so much to do.

"Cheer up Bella," Kim said bumping shoulders with me in the car.

"Yea, you're wedding is going to be amazing," Sarah said turning to face me from the front seat.

"Dum dum dum dum," Andrea hummed like Quil did at the bon fire.

* * *

><p>Letty had us call it quits after dinnertime, when her and Sue took us out again. The day was finally coming to an end and I had picked out most the food. I promised them to go finish all the wedding things when Leah was done with her make up patrols, but they also wanted me to get the cake design and flavor chosen with Sam. So that was another thing I had to do.<p>

As I shuffled in the house from the long day, I saw everyone was hanging around here.

"Oh gosh," I breathed, plopping on top of whoever was on the couch.

"You look like you had fun," Embry laughed.

"Don't even get me started," I sighed.

"What did you do?" Collin asked.

"There were flowers and food and dresses. Ugh, there's even going to be more dresses and shopping. We aren't even close to finishing it all."

"Well, that's why you have a month," Sam smiled.

I rolled my eyes, "Yea yea, well you and I have to go cake shopping this week. We have to pick out the design and eat a bunch of samples."

"Yum," Brady said.

"Ha, yea, just wait till you go through 20. Then you want to barf."

"Doubt that," Jake laughed, patting his belly.

* * *

><p>Towards the end of the long week, Sam and I had picked out a wedding cake and flavor. We were pretty plain people at the end of the day. Our cake was wide and four-tiered. We thought the bigger, the better with the Pack. Anyways, the cake was white and had a bunch of swirly designs to sophisticate it all around. On top was our bride and groom, but he was holding me in his arms and were gazing in each other's eyes. I thought it was pretty cute. The flavor of our cake was actually half chocolate, half vanilla, two tiers of each. The samples were all pretty good, and we thought about doing something unique, but I think Sam and I both were getting tired of trying cake and stuck to the traditional stuff.<p>

"Hey Bells?" Sam asked as we were getting ready for bed.

"Yeah?" I responded, putting on some lotion before slipping under the sheets.

"Who did you want me to ask to be my best man?"

"Sam, you can ask anyone you want," I said. "You don't have to have my approval or try to run it by me. This wedding is part yours too."

"I didn't know if you wanted me to ask Jake…" he trailed off.

"Baby, you can ask anyone you want to, inside the Pack or out."

"I think I'm going to ask Jared," he said slipping into bed.

"Yea?" I said coming to snuggle with him.

"He was the second to phase and we got to know each other pretty well before Paul came in the picture. I guess I feel like he would be the right guy to pick out of everyone. Its hard though," he said running his hand up and down my back.

"I know what you mean," I sighed, kissing his bare shoulder, "but I'm glad you are picking Jared, he is a good guy- all of them are," I told him.

"Whom are you picking for the maid of honor duty?" he wondered to me.

"Not sure yet," I yawned. "hopefully I will know soon, but I feel like I shouldn't pick. It feels unfair," I admitted tiredly.

"No, it's just a title. I guess it only means more since we are adding thought to it."

"Maybe," I yawned again.

"Goodnight Bella," Sam said softly.

"Night Sam. Love you," I hummed.

"Love you too baby," he told me and I drifted off to dreamland.

* * *

><p>Leah finished up her makeup patrols by the second week of August. This caused all the girls to go shopping again. We picked out my shoes, and even how I wanted my hair (which Rose liked). I had set it straight with Alice that I wanted my makeup natural and then we picked out my jewelry.<p>

"oh fuck," I exclaimed as I waited for everyone to try on their bridesmaid dresses I had picked out.

"What?" Sue and Letty asked as they sat next to me.

"I have to write my vows," I claimed.

"That you do Bells," Leah smirked as she came out. The mothers gasped while I grinned, "it's sold my lovely maid of honor, you are wearing that dress."

"What?" she asked me, freezing in her place. I blushed and bit my lip. Guess I had chosen. "Well," I started off as Letty and Sue watched me walk forward, "I need a maid of honor. And even though I subconsciously just picked right now, I feel like it's the right choice. You're my sister, whether Sue and Charlie decide to tie the knot right now or not and I would love to have you be the first female person to have my back.

Tears watered in her eyes and she almost jumped into my arms. "Of course I will Bella, I…thank you," she sniffled.

"of course," I laughed. Kim, Andrea, and Sarah soon joined us all out afterward in their dresses and I smiled. They each somehow fit their style. I had picked the wine color of the calla lily flowers to coincide with the dresses.

Each of the girls standing in my wedding, who were the imprints with me now, had the same color dress with a different styles. For example, Leah's was strapless straight across with a tight fitting waist and flair out to the top of her knees; Sarah's had a sweetheart neckline and flared down a little more than Leah's. Kim's dress was a thick spaghetti strapped v-plunged design that cupped both of her boobs nicely and flared out to her knees, while Andrea's was one shouldered and dipped down to under her armpit, to later flared out.

Last but not least, yes I know you are surprised, was Claire. She shyly came out from the dressing room and we all shined smiles her way brightly. Her dress was a thick-strapped halter-top dress that was tighter around the top and flared out even more than the rest of the girls. Smiling I bent down and hugged her. "You look beautiful."

I had picked Claire to be another one of my bridesmaids because I thought it would be exciting for her. There was a marriage going on and I felt like she should be included in that- almost as if it was her right. She was apart of the family, even still being pretty young. I also especially wanted her to experience what it was going to be like and have her start fantasizing of the dream.

As the seamstress went over all the measurements and fixed what needed to be, I waited and talked with the mothers. Alice and Rose were going to be in my wedding too (yea even though I said I wasn't going to have a huge one, it was going to be, well in my book anyways. 7 girls and flower girl? Sheesh) so I picked out their dresses too. Alice was going to be wearing a spaghetti strapped dress, actually fairly plan, but I figured she would spice it up with her makeup, jewelry and hair. It flared out more like Leah's originally did and she approved of that.

Rose's dress was more of designed as a circular neckline. It was actually fairly close to her neck and then had lose material at her chest area. It then tightened again a little above mid body and then began to loosen again, somewhat flaring out. Hers was quite different from the rest of the girls not only because it was a circular neckline because of the back. Turning the dress was where it was the prettiest. The circular neckline met at the back of the neck with the semi thick straps and then went straight down, only to plunge out again left and right to show some more skin. It connected back to the dress and adapted normally to the style. I knew Rose's was more unique, but I wanted it for her and worked all of the same. As everyone else was finishing up I waited for my flower girl to get here.

The little chimes on the door dinged and I looked over to see Scott bringing Joey.

"Hey you two," I smiled walking over to them. Scott apologized for being late to us and put down little Joey.

"Scott, Joey, I would like you to meet some more of the family, this is Sue, Seth and Leah's mom- Leah is over there," I said pointing to the people, "this is Letty, Paul's mom and Will's grandmother," I told Joey. She nodded. "Here is Kim, and next to her is Sarah and Andrea." I smiled.

"Hi Claire," Joey said first.

"Hi Joey!" she exclaimed waving as the seamstress was fixing her dress. Scott and Joey had met the whole family a few times but each time Scott was pretty overwhelmed.

I remember the first time like it was yesterday too…

_Brady had brought them over to mine and Sam's house. It was unexpected but we welcomed it nonetheless. All of the guys were hanging around, coming in and out with Patrols and waiting for dinner._

"_Scott?" I said popping my head up from the oven._

"_Hey Bella," he said slightly overwhelmed. He held onto Joey, who was looking all around._

"_Hey Sam," Brady said._

"_Hey Brady, you brought some guests?" Sam asked kissing my cheek._

"_Sam Uley, you are…" my fiancé said stepping out to introduce himself._

"_This is Joey, my daughter and I'm Scott," he said._

"_Oh yea, Scott, of course. Nice to finally meet you," Sam said shaking the man's hand._

"_Hey Joey, did you want to sample this bread for me?" I asked. She nodded and kicked her daddy lightly as a signal to get down. Coming over to me with a rush, I held out some bread for her to try. She nodded and smiled, "that was good."_

"_Think it will go with my spaghetti?" I wondered. She nodded again, "yea."_

"_Okay," I smiled._

"_Did you guys want something to drink? Brady you know where they are," I told the pup._

"_Can I have some juice?" Joey asked._

"_Sure, we have some in the fridge. What did you want? I think we have fruit punch, orange, and mixed berry."_

_Her eyes widened, "can I have a mixed berry?"_

"_Of course," I smiled going to the fridge and pulling out a juice box._

"_Isabelley!" a voice called busting through the door._

"_Hey Claire," I smiled as she ran up to hug me. Quil chuckled and followed her further into the house._

"_Oh umm…hey?" Quil said confused to the new people in my kitchen._

"_Quil, this is Joey and Scott, they are with Brady," I said._

"_Oh wow, dude, nice to meet you," Quil said shaking Scott's hand and waving to the little girl Joey beside me._

"_I'm Claire," Claire said introducing herself to Joey._

"_Hi," Joey said shyly._

"_Want to go play? Quil always does with me," Claire said._

"_So does Brady," Joey said with her eyes widening again._

"_Come on," Claire said taking the lead and walking off. Us adults all laughed as Quil and Brady who just returned into the room with a drink for Scott, was pulled off to go play._

"_You have a really nice house," Scott said._

"_Thank you," I smiled again, going over to the stove to check on my sauce._

"_Anything I can do to help?" he asked._

"_You cook?" I asked._

"_I do," he said._

"_Okay, come taste this," I said. "I would offer to the rest of the guys but they don't really know what's missing," I said. Giving him a spoon I had him try my tomato sauce. With a few seconds of deliberation he decided oregano._

"_Hey Bells, any more lemonade? Claire wanted some," Sam said coming back into the room._

"_Check the fridge, last time I checked there was some unless you finished off the pitcher," I spoke. He nodded, and walked to the white machine._

"_Bella!" Jake called, with Embry and Jared tailing behind him. Scott raised an eyebrow again._

"_Scott, this is Jake, Embry and Jared. Guys, this is Scott, Joey's dad," I smiled. They all nodded, coming to shake his hand. Soon after that, Scott met all of them boys' and some more family (like Charlie and Billy) as they trailed into the house. He was for sure overwhelmed and looked really nervous._

"_Welcome to the family," I smiled._

"So, you ready to get your dress on?" I asked my little flower girl. Her eyes sparkled and nodded. "alright, go head into that dressing room," I said pointing to it. She nodded and ran off.

"Thanks again for including her Bella," Scott said.

"Of course," I beamed. Joey came out a few minutes later with a really pretty dress. Joey's was different it was white and was full more like Claire's dress. It had pleats so you could see the scrunched up curtain like design and the chest/neckline was pretty straight, but dipped in the tiniest to give some more elegance. There was a perfect, red whine colored bow at her waistline and was tied perfectly. She smiled at her dad and went to the mirrors to see what would need fixing.

They all looked perfect and I couldn't wait for the big day to arrive.

* * *

><p>As I busied myself with other things, like writing music, I had also planned my time to sort through the honeymoon idea. Sam and I weren't really sure what to do. We both knew Jared didn't like running the Pack unless needed and we didn't really want to do that to him since he had to do that when Sam was in a coma.<p>

"We could just take a vacation in Port Angeles," he said. "I'll still be Alpha and do whatever needed, maybe phase from time to time to check in, but then we have a hotel room to ourselves. It will be like a vacation that's not so far away."

I pondered with the thought and somehow liked it. Maybe then while Sam was on wolf business I could check up on the music studio. All knows that I've been too busy to stop by there.

"That sounds good," I smiled to my fiancé. "Good baby," he said kissing my lips softly.

So after getting that all booked, we just took our time finishing up loose ends. The meal was planned, there was chicken or steak, with side of potatoes and vegetables. I think the meal was like a three or four course, I wasn't really sure anymore. Things all just blended together- from the cake size to the party size and music. My head was about to go crazy.

"Bella!" Rose called as I video chatted her.

"Oh sorry," I blushed.

"Not a problem," she laughed.

"How does it look?" she asked modeling the dress I had sent her a few days ago to try on.

"Holy crap, do you even have to ask?" I wondered. "You look gorgeous."

"thank you," she beamed.

"Bella, I love this dress! I can add so many unique things to it," Alice said skipping in with her dress on.

"Good," I laughed. Her dress fit her well too and I liked how they both looked.

"So how is wedding planning?" Esme asked coming into view.

"Hey Esme," I smiled.

"Bella," she grinned pulling up a seat.

"So I have a question to ask you," I breathed. She nodded and waited gently.

"Well, I was hoping you and Carlisle…I mean well, if it is okay with you two, to umm…well…" I stuttered out.

There was a chuckle and I looked up. Sam was in the doorway of our bedroom holding back a smile.

"Just ask them Bella," he smiled. I shot him a dirty look and bit my lip. I had been struggling with this all week.

"Bella?" Esme wondered.

"Will you sit in the family section? You know in the front pews with Sue, my dad and Uncle Billy? I just…well I mean I know we have the mortal enemy thing down, or well you do with my fiancé, well, not that you really do its just your supposed to," I babbled, "but it would mean a lot if you sat with them. They don't mind it and I know I would love it. I consider you guys to be my family and especially you and Carlisle. You both are like another mother and father to me so I thought you could, you know, sit there, or stand, or not," I fixed with my lip in my mouth. Sam let out another chuckle and walked over to kiss my head.

"Bella, of course we will. That means so much to us," she smiled, almost looking teary eyed. By then I was pretty sure if she could cry she would.

"Sam, you aren't supposed to be around," Alice barked as she came back into view, changed from her dress.

"Sorry Alice," he smiled coming to sit next to me on the bed. I smiled down at him and leaned to kiss him softly.

"Bella, do we have certain shoes to wear with the dress?" Rose wondered.

"Yea, I sent them. They are white- opposite of mine," I said.

"Bella! You aren't supposed to discuss anything with him in the room!" Alice screeched. I held up my hands, "okay okay." Sam let out another laugh. "So you're shoes aren't white?"

This caused Alice to freak out again and I rolled my eyes, teasingly glaring at Sam for jabbing her on.

* * *

><p>"So how are the vows coming along?" Uncle Billy asked as I hung out at his place on one Saturday morning. Sam was home with some of the guys talking about Bachelor party stuff so I thought it would be a good time to go hide out and hang with some people I never really had the chance to anymore.<p>

"Not too good," I groaned with a pad of paper in front of me. My hand was twiddling with the pen, making a repetitive beat.

Uncle Billy chuckled, rolling in his wheelchair towards me. "They come from the heart Bella, not the head."

"I know," I whined, "I just want them to be perfect. I want to say everything I think and feel in the short amount of time I have."

Billy smiled at me. "I'm sure you'll get it."

"Yea, maybe a year from now, and that will be too late," I grumbled. My Uncle laughed again as Jake walked in the house.

"Bells," my best friend acknowledged said kissing my head. "How are those vows?"

I groaned again and laid my head on the table.

"that good huh?" he said grabbing some food from the fridge.

"Can I make you guys dinner?" I whined, trying to get my thoughts off of this stupid task.

"When have we ever said no?" Billy chuckled.

* * *

><p>The battle was on between Leah and Jared. They both wanted us to have a bachelor and bachelorette party, but it unclear of what we could do. Strippers? No strippers? Lots of drinking? None?<p>

Sam was pretty adamant that he didn't want us girls drinking, but Jared made it pretty clear the boys were going to be. I said no to strippers for both sides, which Sam agreed to but neither of them liked that either.

"Bella, I am your maid of honor. You have to give me some leniency here. Please, come on, I want to plan something fun," Leah whined.

"And we can, just no strippers," I clarified.

"Fine, but I at least want to take one shot with my girl."

"I agree to that," I said. She gave me a look "It's Sam, not me."

She growled and nodded. The poor Alpha, I'm sure he was going to get an earful when he returned home.

"Sam," Leah said before he made his presence known in the living room.

"Hey baby," I smiled pitifully. He read my face and furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Sam…oh Sam," Leah started, "Sam I am," she stated. I let out a little giggle but she remained serious. "Sam, Sam the man," she rhymed. "Sam…as in Samuel. Sam as in Samuel Uley," she said. "We are drinking- Bella is drinking when it comes time to have her bachelorette party," She clarified.

Sam immediately glanced to me. "She wants me to take a shot with her, nothing I can really protest to," I chalked up. He sighed, knowing the real battle now was about to begin.

"No."

"Sam," Leah gritted out.

"Baby, it is kind of unfair you boys get to go drinking but us girls don't," I added.

"Bells, we're wolves. We have high tolerance that can't get us drunk till probably our 50th beer," he said gently.

"And who says you wont reach that much? And what about Scott and Cole? They aren't wolves," Leah said. I raised my eyebrow at that and agreed with her. Its not that I protested against Sam, I guess I could see where he was coming from (and I didn't mind it because I wasn't a big drinker), but I did want to take a shot with Leah, my sister.

"Leah, you know we won't and honestly, it's not worth the risk."

"Risk of what?" Leah said. "I'm a wolf too. All I want is to go to a bar, dance and take a shot or two with my girl."

"No," he said again.

"Oh come on," the female wolf gritted out.

"Relax," I said putting a hand on the growling girl's shoulder.

"Leah, you may be a wolf, but what if something happens. What if with all of that commotion someone spikes your drink? Or maybe Bella's or Sarah's? That will affect them or maybe you," he said.

"We aren't stupid Sam," Leah said, "We drink a full drink. And if we don't, we leave it and order a fresh one when we want."

"well, what about Claire? She's apart of the wedding. No bars for her," he said.

"I'm having two parties babe," I smiled, "one for little kids and one for not."

He raised an eyebrow at that.

"Oh please, don't even think about it. You boys don't get two."

"Why, we have Liam," he bargained.

"Fine, talk to Jared," she growled.

He chuckled at her reaction.

"What if we drank here?" I bargained thinking about the thought. "the girls could all have a big sleepover here- big girls I mean," I said. "that way no one has the chance to spike our drink and we are out of harms way. No kidnapping, getting overly drunk or anything else you can think of," I told Sam. He thought about it for a few seconds and agreed.

"No eyes though," Leah warned in a dark voice. "We see any boy hanging around we get to hurt you where it counts."

Sam and I both winced at the thought. "I'll make sure I'm at the Black's," Sam said. I laughed and nodded.

"Bells, you ready to meet my dad?" he asked me.

"now?" I wondered wide-eyed. He nodded to me. Glancing at Leah she raised her eyebrow and got up from the matress. "Well, have fun with that. I'm sure I'll hear about it."

"thanks," I groaned, tossing myself back into the bed.

"I'll talk everything out with the rest of the girls. See ya Bella!" Leah called making her way out.

"Hey," he said coming over to lay next to me, "I thought you wanted to meet him."

"I do, but now? Like this? In a matter of minutes?"

"Yes," he said confused.

"I'm nervous," I admitted.

"Don't be," he smiled, "I've already talked to him about you. He seems to like you without even meeting you so far."

"Great, now I'm not going to live up to this man's standards," I groaned with a pillow on my face.

"Didn't you just hear me? I-"

"I know," I said taking the thing off my face, "and baby, no offense but you think I'm as great as the reason you need to breathe."

"You are the reason I breathe," he corrected. I rolled my eyes at the corniness but blushed a bit too. He chuckled, kissing my mark and lips.

"Let's go."

Sighing, I let him help me pull me up and left the house with him.

* * *

><p>Sam's dad was a great man. Tall like Sam and the two even shared many features and looks. He greeted us as we stepped onto the reservation with open arms. I enjoyed watching Sam interact with his father because it really seemed like they missed each other. I could tell how passive Sam was trying to be around him.<p>

"Bella, this is Joshua Uley, my dad," Sam said, "and dad, this is my girl, my life, my imprint and fiancée Bella."

I blushed at his introduction and shook Sam's dad's hand. "It's nice to meet you Bella."

"You too sir," I smiled.

"Son, please come in," he said opening his home to us. Sam wrapped his arm around me and led us in the house. Mr. Uley's place was pretty spacious and somewhat empty. If I didn't know any better, he wasn't here that often. It was an open spaced flat with a TV, couch, bed and kitchen all in one, with just large doorways separating each. There was a bathroom off to the side on my left when I first walked in, but I'm guessing it wasn't anything surprising either.

"So Bella, I heard you've been dating my son for a while, even sticking with him while in a coma?"

I nodded and glanced at Sam. "Yea, but I don't know why that should really be surprising. I would always stick by him."

Joshua Uley grinned and grabbed us a couple of sodas as we sat down at the table.

"So tell me about yourself Bella," he said.

"I'm an only child," I said. "my dad is Charlie Swan and I came back here around…five years ago after my mom died." He nodded, "I graduated from college a while ago, while also working in the music industry thanks to your son Sam," I grinned.

"Music huh?" Mr. Uley said. "and how did my son help you?"

"He took some of my music I wrote and sent it in to an agency. For my birthday he gave me their card and told me if I wanted to contact them I could, either way they like what I was writing."

"So you're interested in writing. Ever sing?" he wondered.

"sometimes," I blushed, "usually for a demo I do, but never for a record. I may be good but I'm not that good and personally, I don't think I could handle the attention. I would blush too much," I joked. The two men laughed and since then, everything has kicked off.

* * *

><p>It was one random day near middle of September when the RSVP of Phil Dwyer came. I was shocked and sat there for a few seconds. It was late, but it came and he was coming.<p>

"You okay?" Sam asked as I sat at the kitchen table frozen in place.

"He's coming," I said surprised.

"Who?" Sam wondered lost.

"Phil," I spoke with a catch in my voice. Sam raised an eyebrow and went over to me. On the card was the check mark, saying what he was going to have to eat and he was coming.

Flipping over the card for who knows what reason, I saw he had written something. _Bella, I am so sorry for this being late and how our relationship dwelled off. I only hope to make this up to you as a father you deserve. See you on your special day, Love always, Phil._

"Bella?" Sam asked. Glancing over at him, I saw the hesitation.

"What?" I asked.

"Who's going to walk you down the aisle?"

_**A/N: So how do you like that twist? Good I hope? And did you enjoy Sam's father? Was the dress description okay? Confusing? Not? Let it out so I can kno!**_


	27. Chapter 27

Since Phil had been included on the guest list, things have been a little tense (that's how I felt anyways). The end of September was soon to approach, which meant little wedding chimes in my head. I still had to come up with my vows and pick who was going to walk me down the aisle. Not to mention that but I also had two bachelorette parties to attend.

It was stressful and I felt bad for Sam who was trying to help me the best way possible- being there.

I talked to Sam about Phil and Charlie completely. He sat there on our bed with me listening it all through. It seems so simple and obvious, I should pick Charlie, but some of my thoughts couldn't help to me asking Phil. I truthfully forgot to ask any male to fill that role.

Either way though, Sam concluded it had to be my decision, whether I went with my brain or my heart, I would have to eventually choose.

Now, you see, I love both men dearly. Charlie and Phil have been in different stages of my life, but yet again, Charlie and Phil have each stepped out of it too. Charlie left me after my mom won me from the divorce and we didn't really stay in touch. But as everyone knows Phil left me when my mom died and he neither stayed in touch with me. So both men were guilty of walking out and not communicating, but the real question was, who would be the one to walk me _down_?

My head hit the table and I repeatedly banged it.

"Bella, baby, stop you are going to hurt yourself," Sam said gently as he was making us breakfast.

"I can't do this," I whined.

"yes you can," he said watching me. Groaning, I lifted my head and removed the hair from my face. Tying it up in a pony tail, I looked over the check list Alice made me compile. "So you're going to get your tuxes rechecked today?" I asked Sam.

"Yes ma'am," he said. "final fitting."

Nodding, I crossed that off the list. The girls also needed to go back in one more time, but I wasn't in charge of that. My only job was to warn them.

"Here," he said sliding a plate full of pancakes in front of me.

"Thank you," I smiled giving him a kiss as he leaned down. Continuing on with my list, I made sure to have a ring barer pillow for Liam to carry and our marriage license all set.

"And this wedding should be on a roll," I told Sam as he came with his own plate to sit down.

"yea?" he asked.

"Yep," I said digging into my food.

"So what are you doing while im gone?" Sam wondered.

"Off to Billy's I think. I need some of that old mans wiseness to rub off on me."

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Don't even ask, you shouldn't know."

Sam dropped the subject still curious and inhaled his food. He was done before I even finished two pancakes and was eyeing mine for more. Sliding the plate to him, I cleaned up the table and kissed him on my way to get dressed.

"Bye Bella!" Sam called upward to the house as I was finishing getting ready.

"Bye Sam!" I called back. Shutting off the light to the bathroom, I trotted downstairs and grabbed my keys. Off to the Black's house.

* * *

><p>When I pulled up, I noticed Charlie was here to. Hesitantly, I got out of the car and stepped in the house.<p>

"Hello?" I called.

"Hey Bella, we are in here," Billy called.

"Hey dad, hey Uncle Billy," I said giving each of them a kiss.

"What brings you here Bells?" Charlie wondered.

"I need some old men wiseness. Vows need to be done," I told him with a legal pad and pen in hand. The two guys chuckled.

"how can we help?" my dad asked.

"write them for me?" I smiled sweetly, both of them chuckled again and he shook his head. Sighing, I plopped on the couch and groaned. "these are never going to get done."

"Yours aren't" Jake clarified coming into the room, "Sam already has his done."

"What?" I asked as Jake quickly found what he was looking for, which I think was a shoe, and then went to leave. "Hold it right there Jacob Black! Sam has his vows done?"

"Did you expect anything less from that love bird of a man?" Jake wondered turning from his halt to look at me. I sighed, of course not.

"Good luck Bells, have fun!" he said and was out the door in seconds. Groaning again, I sprawled out on the couch and tried to think of what to write.

* * *

><p>It was hours later and my only words were 'Sam' with a common after his name.<p>

"Looking good Bells," Uncle Billy commented, laughing at his own sarcasm as he passed by glancing at the notepad.

"Evil old man," I grumbled back.

"Bells, it really shouldn't be that hard, just say what is in your heart." My dad said.

"And that's the problem. They always in conflict with each other. Plus there is so much to say. And, do I want to follow what my heart says? Or what my head?"

"Always the heart," Charlie said. "It may not be exactly perfect and it may cause some mistakes, but that's why its your heart not your head. Its what you feel inside. And it's harder because words can't always be affiliated with how you are feeling."

"right," I said tapping my pen against my lip.

* * *

><p>Again, hours passed and Billy was actually cooking us some food. I was still trying to think of my vows, trying to pull words from my head and heart to match but nothing really came to a neutral setting. I wanted to get everything right, and as close to perfect that I could, but so far, it wasn't turning out that way.<p>

"Hey dad?" I asked suddenly, sitting up from the couch.

"Yea Bells?" he asked tearing his eyes away from the game on TV.

"I know this is kind of late, and random, but I want you to be the one to walk me down the aisle. If you take the job," I added.

"You sure?" he asked a bit doubtful.

"Positive," I said.

"I'd be happy to Bells," he replied nodding.

"Good," I said relieved, kicking my feet back up to lay on the couch. With that out of the way by listening to my heart, my pen began moving across the paper and I knew just what to say.

I came back home a little after dinnertime, and Sam was hanging around waiting for me.

"Well hello," I said plopping my head on his lap.

"Hey baby," he said watching some TV while subconsciously running a warm hand through my hair.

"I picked my dad," I said randomly, "I went with my heart and not my head."

"yea?" he said smiling down at me. I nodded.

"Good Bells."

* * *

><p>The next few days went by and I could tell the tension from the double father problem was lessening. My dad seemed more jolly and Sue was beaming with my decision. Everything really seemed up lifted and I was happy- well mostly. The wedding was approaching and everything was tumbling into a big ball of stress.<p>

"Morning Bells," Jared said coming in the house.

"Hey you," I smiled leaning in as he set a kiss on my cheek.

"Looks good," he said referring to the cookies I was making.

"There are some cupcakes on the counter behind you, and muffins in the basket on top of the fridge. Help yourself," I smiled.

"Thanks, where's Sam? We are supposed to be finalizing his bachelor party plans and stuff."

"I think he went for a shower, but he will probably be out soon."

I watched briefly as the man took a seat on the stool tucked under my counter.

"You okay?" he asked watching me.

"Yea, stressed," I sighed.

"Wedding jitters?" he wondered.

"More like wedding _plans_," I said. He chuckled.

"Well what is your bachelorette party supposed to be like? I heard you're having two," Jared spoke. I let out a laugh, enjoying how he was trying to take my mind off it, "I have no idea what's really going on with that. Leah is planning it all. I think one night is going to be for little kids, dinner or something and then another night here maybe? I think that's where the drinking will start."

Jared snickered, "the thought of you girls getting drunk is hilarious."

"Hey, just because we don't drink a lot doesn't mean we haven't been wasted a time or two," I said sticking up for my self lightly.

"Not a good thing to know baby," Sam said walking downstairs with wet hair.

"When have you ever gotten drunk Bells? Or even tipsy?" Jared laughed.

I smiled as Sam came to kiss me and then turned back to my Pack brother.

"I did it a few times with my mom actually," I spoke.

"What?" they both said.

I smiled, blushed, and laughed all at the same time. "Yea, good stuff huh?"

"Oh Bells, you have to tell me this story," Jared said get comfy in his chair.

"Don't you have plans with my fiancé today?" I wondered. Apparently Jared was going to run over the plans for his party with Sam, do whatever else that was a secret and then patrol with him.

"They are going to have to wait because I can't believe you haven't shared this with me. Bells, I thought we were close?" he teased. I grinned and rolled my eyes. Jared and I had shared some of our most deep dark secrets with each other during those late nights figuring out Pack stuff when Sam was in a coma. We did really become closer because of the absence of Sam but that didn't mean I necessary opened up about everything.

"Weren't you underage when you were with you mom?" Sam asked intrigued. I raised my eyebrow. "Yea but its not like I waited till I was 21 to drink with my friends anyways. Did you?" I wondered.

Sam went silent and I dropped my spoon back in the bowl of cookie dough, "you did? You never drank underage?"

"no really," he shrugged. Jared couldn't seem to contain himself anymore and he fell into a huge ball of laughter.

"Jared?" I smiled, chuckling a bit at how funny he found this. Soon he was laughing so hard he fell off his stool and landed on the ground with a huge thump. Quickly leaving my bowl of cookie dough, I went to check on him but he was still laughing.

"Jared, calm down," I laughed.

"Bells," he breathed. "look at you."

"What?" I asked looking down to analyze what he was laughing at. Did I have something on my shirt? My face? Taking a glance at Sam he just shrugged. Nope, guess I was fine and wasn't out of place.

"You," he said sucking in a breath and getting up from the floor, "the good girl who is actually quite bad, and then we have the bad boy looking Sam, who is actually a mush ball of goodness," Jared said. I let out a giggle while Sam just growled at his Beta.

"Come on Sam, that's pretty funny, and ironic. Well…maybe ironic," Jared said thinking it over. Chuckling, I went back over my cookies and watched Sam stalk over to the wolf and hit him upside the head.

"Hey! Ouch, watch it man," Jared complained.

"Sam!" I scolded.

"Baby," he replied to me with a look.

"whatever," I breathed morphing the cookie dough in balls to lay on a tray.

"So your mom let you? Like she was cool with that?" Jared wondered.

"Yea, pretty much. Renee was always more of a kid than me."

Sam shook his head.

"But that must have been cool right? To do stuff with her like that?"

I blushed a bit and thought about it. "Yea, I guess. Sometimes it was a little much…"

Jared's eyes went wide and Sam groaned. "new topic please," he asked with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

"So Bella, what else have you done?" Jared wondered. Blushing a bit, I flung some cookie dough at him.

"Not telling."

"Oh come on Bells, have you went skinny dipping? Get caught making out by your parents? Have you had a naked sleepover?"

"Enough," Sam growled smacking Jared upside the head again before going to stand behind me.

"Why is your mind always in the gutter? Is it a wolf Pack thing? Always like your brothers," I tisked.

He rolled his eyes.

"What would Kim think," I playfully sighed, knowing he would immediately jump at those words.

"Bella! No, you can't tell her. Please! I'll stop! Don't tell her though! I will be in the hole for a week. Don't do that to your brother. Please, I can't go cold turkey."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked Jared confused.

"Sex," I said simply.

Jared groaned thinking of all the possibilities that could happen if I was to share the questions Jared was asking me to his girl.

"Ouch," Sam said kissing my head.

I smiled, "yep."

Finishing a tray of cookies, I danced around the kitchen and put them in the oven.

"Bells, please. It would kill me. One time, just one time, I went to go try and look at the bridesmaid dress you picked out for her and she withheld sex from me for the whole day."

"A day Jared?" I laughed.

"She made sure to tease me that whole day," he groaned. Sam and I laughed.

"Why did she hide the dress from you?" Sam wondered.

"Beats me. She wants it to be some sort of secret or something," Jared groaned. Both boys looked to me for an explanation. "I don't know why, but all the girls are doing that. It really isn't that big of a deal, it's just a bridesmaid dress."

"Oh please," Jared said rolling his eyes, "after I got caught with Kim she said something like 'the bridesmaid dresses are one of the most important thing. They play a big role in the wedding to introduce the bride and capture peoples attention or something'", he grumbled. I let out a laugh, sounded like Kim. "She's got a point, and I guess she takes her role seriously. Its cute and I'll tell you this Jared, she looks really good in the dress."

He groaned again while Sam and I snickered.

"And you know, you're so lucky I'm nice," I stated. Jared glanced up at me and broke out into a grin.

"Thank you!" Jared said running over to hug me. I let out a laugh as he pretty much attacked me.

"Jared, get off my mate," Sam said holding back a growl.

Jared let me go and kissed my cheek, "thank you."

From there, Sam started to push his Beta out the door and kiss me goodbye. "I'll be back later okay?"

"Sure, have fun. And be safe on patrol," I said.

"Always," he smirked, winking at me as he went to leave.

"Hey Jared," I called before he could leave my sight. He turned, looking at me, waiting as I said something, "lets just say Renee was really lenient when it came too all that grown up stuff."

Jared's eyes grew and Sam growled. "Out," he commanded his Beta. Smirking, I watched as Sam shook his head, waving me a goodbye as he left.

* * *

><p>My day was spent by myself running errands. I dropped off some food I made earlier this morning to Billy and my dad and then went to go visit Sue at the diner to make sure my checklist of things to do were going to be complete today.<p>

"Bella," Sue smiled taking off her apron and calling a break.

"Hey Sue," I said tiredly.

"You need rest," she said.

"Once this wedding is done, I definitely will get some," I said.

"Well, we can make this quick okay?"

"Sure," I chirped. We talked for a while, going over some more loose ends. I would meet with the photographer today just to go over everything, I had to pick up Sam's ring, and make sure the place settings and all that crap was correct.

"You sure you don't want me to go with you? I can have someone cover my shift," she spoke.

"No its okay, I don't mind finishing up stuff," I said gathering my things.

"Take someone with you Bella," Sue said.

"Alright," I caved, "maybe I will bring Collin."

She laughed but nodded nonetheless. Patting my shoulder, she gave me a motherly hug and told me to be safe.

So, now I was driving to Port Angeles, where I had to be anyways, and I walked into my music studio. Seth was at the front desk showing Scott everything?

"Scott?" I wondered.

"Hey Bella," he said coming over to hug me.

"You took the job?" I smiled.

"Yea," he said sheepishly, "those hours at the hospital weren't really working out so I finished my week there and well, I came here to talk to you but Seth just roped me in."

"Good," I beamed to both Seth and Scott.

"Hey, is Collin here?" I asked Seth. He nodded and looked at the schedule, "he should be in the back doing some stock work."

"okay thanks, I think I'm going to borrow him today, is that okay? Can you clear his schedule?" I asked my number one helper.

"Yea, go on and take him," Seth said moving some things around on the paper now.

"Okay cool, well Scott, welcome to the business of music. I'll let Seth give you a run of the place and we can talk numbers and stuff later," I smiled.

"Thanks Bella," he said relieved.

"Of course," I chirped and left to go find Collin. Making a quick pit stop over to Seth, I gave him a kiss on the cheek and a big thank you, telling him I owed him.

* * *

><p>"What's up Bella?" Collin asked as I stepped into the back room.<p>

"Want to go wedding shopping with me today?" I asked in almost a plea. He scrunched up his nose but nodded.

"Thank you," I sighed, twirling my keys in my hand as I waited for him to finish.

"So where are we going?" Collin wondered.

"Well, I have to meet with some photographer, and then make sure all of the place settings and stuff is all set. Oh, and pick up Sam's ring."

"Anything else?" he asked as he got in the car.

"Hopefully not," I said as I started up the engine. We made it to the photographers, and talk to the team briefly. I guess there were going to be sets of people all around- some to watch me get ready while some to watch Sam and the rest of the guests.

"I like that one girl," Collin said after we got back in the car.

"Yea? Which one?" I asked.

"Reese," he said looking back at the building. "She introduced herself to us."

"She seemed nice," I said. He nodded. All throughout the ride I snuck glances at him and wondered what was bound to happen.

Collin and I picked up Sam's ring and I was relieved when he said it would fit Sam perfectly. From there, we checked out the place settings and name cards and took ourselves out to dinner.

"So are you getting excited?" Collin wondered.

"Yea, but stressed too. I guess it's a good thing to have Alice around. I don't know what I would do if I had to be in charge of how the after party was going to be set up and look too."

He let out a little chuckle.

"I still feel too young to get married though," I said.

"Well if you think about it, you've lived a pretty successful life so far," he said.

"geez, thanks Collin. You make me seem like it a good time to die," I teased. He blushed and back peddled, "no I mean well you've got a nice job, a family, and education. Marriage and kids are bound to happen soon right?"

"Marriage yes, kids not yet," I corrected.

"Fair enough," Collin said.

* * *

><p>By the time I dropped Collin home and pulled into the driveway it was dark out. Slipping my way into the house, I saw Sam had done something romantic. On the table were two lit candles, wax dripping down their sides, a small vase of roses and a card in his messy writing.<p>

'It's been a stressful week. Upstairs is a bath all ready for you. See you later tonight, love you~ Sam.'

Setting down the card, I picked up a rose from the water and smelt it. They must have been hand grown because they smelt beautiful- almost like fresh picked raspberries.

Dropping all of my things, I carefully went upstairs and checked our huge tub. There was a bubble bath waiting for me with steaming warm water and rose pedals all over. I grinned to myself thinking of my thoughtful fiancée.

Going to get my PJs, I quickly stripped down and stepped in the steaming water. The warmth surrounding me relaxed all of my tense muscles and let me breath from the stress of this wedding. Everything big was set- the people coming, our vows, rings, place, and our attire for the night, but everything else was just non-sense.

My eyes fluttered shut for a few minutes and when I woke up, the water was no longer warm. Getting out, I drained the tub and slipped on my PJs. Sam wasn't going to be home till late, so I tucked myself in and fell fast asleep.

* * *

><p>My morning was the usual, but I was actually excited to enjoy today because it was my chance to relax. Sam wasn't beside me when I woke, but I knew he was probably on patrol. He was trying to double up so he could have all the time in the world with me when we had our honeymoon. Sliding out of bed, I pulled on some sweat for the day and padded my way to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth like usual and even ran a brush through my hair. When I was done, I made my way downstairs and saw my doors to my house open with the coffee pot on.<p>

Grabbing myself some orange juice instead, I stood in the middle of my kitchen and thought about the wedding. It was next week. Crazy thoughts started to morph in my head and I chuckled to myself a bit. I had been hesitant to get married in two months but as I planned and got everything together I learned the months had been passing by really slow.

"Hey Quil," I smiled as he walked into the house.

"Bella, just who I was looking for," he chirped.

"I'm the only one in this house you goof," I laughed. Handing him some muffins I made the other day, I picked one up myself and planted my butt on the counter.

"How's Claire?" I wondered to him.

"Bouncing off the walls with excitement to be in your wedding," he smirked. I laughed and popped a bit of muffin in my mouth.

"She looked really pretty Quil, just wait till you see her," I smiled.

"I can't wait," he sighed, "she wont show me her dress or tell me who she is walking down the aisle with."

I raised an eyebrow. "Jealous?"

"Very," he sighed. I smiled a bit and turned my attention back to the muffin. These girls really were being secretive. I guess nobody would know the arrangement of how to walk down the aisle till the day came.

"So how's the stress?" Quil wondered, "What do you have to do today?" he wondered eating his third muffin.

"Nothing," I said hopping down and throwing away my wrapper. "today is the day I get to relax. I have to check in with Alice and Rose, and maybe try on my dress one more time but I think that's it. Or at least, I'm really hoping so."

He laughed.

"In all honesty though, I'm glad Alice is partly running this show. I'm ready to just throw it all away and go elope with the Alpha," I joked.

"You better not," A pixie like voice called. My head snapped to the doorway and I found Alice and Rose making their way into my house.

"We planned all of this down to the tee Bella, no running off," she smiled. My face brightened and ran to the two of them.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked hugging them.

"We had to see the bride a week before her wedding!" Alice said, "and we wanted to relieve some of the stress," Rose pitched. My eyes watered, as how sweet they were.

"Sam, it's good to see you up and moving," Rose smirked as I tucked myself in beside her. My eyebrows shot up as I saw him standing there chuckling.

Sam had brought them here and approved of him being on La Push land. Was he the greatest guy ever or what?

"Thank you," I said running into his arms.

He rumbled with laughed as I held onto him, "of course baby. I'm sorry I haven't been around that often to help you with all of this wedding stuff. I was working on getting this part of your family across the border," he spoke. Smiling, I kissed him hard on the mouth, slowly planning my feet back on the ground.

"Definitely forgiven," I beamed.

"Alright, I wanted to see this house you two created," Rose said. bouncing over to the girls, I took each of their hands and showed them around.

"Dude, you know you're house is going to smell like vampire for at least a week right?" Quil said.

"Yup," Sam replied.

* * *

><p>It was maybe 25 minutes later when we finished a full tour. We were back in the kitchen where we first started.<p>

"Well I must say Bella, I approve of all your décor and accessory choices," Alice pepped.

"Well, then you have to thank Sue for most of that. All I did was pick out the colors and go shopping with the woman- she matched everything and swung it all together."

Quil, Sam, Rose and Alice chuckled. "Bella, we were thinking of going for coffee, would you like to come with us?" Rose asked. I raised my eyebrows. "Sure, is the rest of your family joining us?" I wondered to the Cullens.

"They are in Port Angeles so if you want to go there I'm sure we can meet them," Rose said. I nodded but then was confused, why aren't they back at their home in Forks.

"We didn't want to cause any more trouble with the Quileute genes so we are just passing in and out. Port Angeles should be far enough away that we don't have any effect on your people," Alice said reading my face. I nodded.

"Let me go get changed," I said.

"I'll help!" Alice said speeding up to the bedroom with her vampire abilities Grumbling to myself about being Barbie Bella, all of the supernatural beings in my house laughed while Alice just shouted, "you should get used to it Bella! Just wait till your wedding day!"

_**A/N: So did you agree with Bella's choice on Charlie? Think Collin and the girl will go somewhere? And how about those Cullens? ;)**_


	28. Chapter 28

So I got dressed for the day with the help of Alice. She was beyond excited to go through my closet and pick out what I should wear. While Alice was helping me though, Rose called the rest of her family and told them to meet the three of us at the coffee shop downtown.

Finally we made it downstairs and the house was quiet. Sam had called up to me that he was leaving for patrol and to tell the rest of the pack the Cullens were here. So I quickly grabbed my purse, house keys and left with the Rose and Alice.

"Bella!" The Cullens all chimed as I walked into the coffee shop.

"Hi guys!" I smiled. Hugging each one of them, I sat down in a chair Edward pulled up for me and beamed.

"You look lovely Bella," Esme said.

"Only took me a half hour to leave my bedroom," I grumbled while looking to Alice. Everyone laughed.

"So how are the wedding plans coming along?" Edward wondered.

"Good, stressful and tiring."

"Well Bella Bean, we are here to help take care of the rest," Emmett boomed.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"How's song writing coming?" Jasper asked.

"Haven't done much of it lately. I'll have to show you all my studio, its not even a block away," I beamed.

The day with the Cullens was nice. It was easy going and a perfect stress reliever. I liked having my family back with me. So after I showed them my music studio, which was closed since it was a Sunday, Emmett made me play a song. Setting up a beat in one of the music booths, I grabbed a headset and went into the soundproof room, leaving them behind to in the control room to listen. As the beat was put on repeat, I took out one of my songs I wrote a while ago and started singing.

_**("Arms" by Christina Perri)**_

_I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart  
>But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start<em>

_You put your arms around me_  
><em>And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go<em>  
><em>You put your arms around me and I'm home<em>

_How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around?_  
><em>I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown<em>

_I hope that you see right through my walls_  
><em>I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling<em>  
><em>I'll never let a love get so close<em>  
><em>You put your arms around me and I'm home<em>

_The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be loved_  
><em>I never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone<em>

_You put your arms around me_  
><em>And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go...<em>

_I hope that you see right through my walls_  
><em>I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling<em>  
><em>I'll never let a love get so close<em>  
><em>You put your arms around me and I'm home<em>

_I tried my best to never let you in to see the truth_  
><em>And I've never opened up<em>  
><em>I've never truly loved 'til you put your arms around me<em>  
><em>And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go<em>

_I hope that you see right through my walls_  
><em>I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling<em>  
><em>I'll never let a love get so close<em>  
><em>You put your arms around me and I'm home<em>

_You put your arms around me and I'm home_

When I was done, I took off the headset and saw Emmett being.

"Do another one Bella Bean, from your head, that was cheating," he spoke in the intercom. I let out a laugh and walked back into the control room.

"Please Bella Bean? Please," he whined.

"Emmett," Rose snapped.

"Okay okay," I said as he was giving me those sad eyes. Everyone laughed and I set up another beat I had messed around with a while ago. "Rose and Alice, I want you to help me with this."

Both of their eyes went wide and they immediately said no. "Oh come on, I'm writing out what you have to say, lets go," I said dragging them along. Quickly putting on my headset, I listened to the beat, wrote some lyrics and told them what they would be singing.

"I hate you Emmett," Alice grumbled. Everyone laughed.

_**("Casualty of Love" by Jessie J)**_

_We may not have all the answers  
>Oh I know that we can change some of the things that are beyond our control<br>And the vision of us may be blurry  
>But use your heart to see<br>Just follow the beat the rhythm will lead you right back to me  
>Sometimes it's a game of give and take<br>It's easy to break but hold on and wait  
>Have a little faith <em>

_I will go down to the last round  
>I'll be your strength to find you when you get lost in the crowd<br>So I'll stand up tall if by chance I fall  
>Then I'll go down as a casualty of love <em>

_Love love love – casualty – love Love love love – casualty – love Love love love love casualty  
>A casualty of love <em>

_The battle of us could be simple  
>Escape without being hurt<br>Cuz' love is our shield keeps us concealed From what could get even worse _

_So baby let me be your soldier Don't be overtaken by pride  
>Just close your eyes, take my hand Promise to keep us alive <em>

_Sometimes it's a game of give and take It's easy to break but hold on and wait Have a little faith _

_I will go down to the last round  
>I'll be your strength to find you when you get lost in the crowd<br>So I'll stand up tall if by chance I fall  
>Then I'll go down as a casualty of love <em>

_All is fair in love and war  
>Knock me down and I'll get back up wanting more Through the fire and rain, it makes me numb from the pain<br>That's the price, that's the price I'll pay _

_And I will go down to the last round  
>I'll be your strength to find you when you get lost in the crowd<br>So I'll – I'll stand up tall and baby if I fall  
>Then I'll go down as a casualty of love<br>Love love love love (Repeat) _

_I'll be your casualty – casualty (Repeat)  
>Casualty of love<br>A casualty of love – a casualty of love – a casualty of love _

As we finished, the Cullens clapped again we all smiled.

"Bella that was really good," Edward said while Jasper and the rest of the family agreed.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"Good job Bella Bean! And Rose," Emmett smiled. Alice gave him the death glare and his eyes went wide. "You too Alice, very nice," he said. Her face went back to a bright smile and she jumped into Jasper's arms.

"We should get you back Bella," Rose said. Nodding, I closed up the studio and hopped in the car. The whole family surprisingly went with us, Carlisle said something about talking to Sam, and so I shrugged that mysterious feeling off. When we pulled up to my house, I unlocked the doors with the vampire family right behind me and had the shock of my life.

"Surprise!" everyone shouted.

"What the hell?" I asked looking at my wolf pack of a family.

"It's your wedding shower Bella," Alice said stepping out from behind me to grin.

"You all knew about this?" I asked turning to the Cullens. They nodded.

"We were coming anyways but the opportunity seemed perfect," Edward said.

"Congratulations Bella," Rose said hugging me. I let out a laugh and rolled my eyes at how easily I was duped.

Soon all of my bridesmaids attacked me in a large group hug and then my pack brothers.

"I can't believe I was oblivious to this," I told Sue as she came up to hug me.

"We're glad you were. We took extra precautions to hide this from you."

"And you were in on this?" I asked Charlie.

"Sorry kiddo," he said kissing my head.

"Is that why I haven't seen you around lately sir?" I asked my fiancé.

"It's hard to try and keep a secret from my girl," Sam said kissing me briefly. I shook my head.

After all of the hellos and hugs were out of the way, I found myself with Liam in my arms and Claire off playing with Joey.

"Do I get to come to your party?" Will asked me.

"What party?" I wondered.

"Your girl party," he said, "daddy said we get an all boys party and you get an all girls party. But I want to come to yours. Auntie Leah said it was going to be really fun."

I let out a laugh. "maybe we can sneak you in."

Liam's eyes lit up and he nodded.

"Auntie Rose!" he squealed as she approached. Rosalie's face beamed and she took the toddler in her arms. "Oh how I missed you," she cooed as he hugged her.

"Yo sis," Leah said walking through the mass of people in my house, "you ready to open up your gifts?"

"I have gifts?" I asked. A few people laughed. "Yea girl, you have gifts," Leah said pulling me away. Sam was already dragged to the couch and had a gift in hand.

"When did we have gifts?" I asked puzzled. More people chuckled as they came around to watch us.

"This feel like my 10th birthday or something," I muttered. Again people chuckled and Sam and I opened our first gift. Since we already had a house, there weren't very many things I thought people could give us, but I was wrong.

The present was from both Sam's dad and mine. They had given Sam and I a photo book titled 'why we love you' and had a bunch of pictures from when we little to now. I was somewhat surprised my dad hadn't teamed up with Sue but I loved what we had received nonetheless. Sue had hers coincide with Seth and Leah. They had given us a picnic basket full of things. Inside were items like beer, a red and white-checkered blanket, some new candles, and other stuff. It was a cute idea and I loved it. After thanking them, Sam and I grabbed the next one. It was from Letty, Paul and Liam. Tearing the paper, I found a big picture frame. It spelled out 'soulmates' using the simplest things around La Push. It was placed in a nice frame and would be perfect in our bedroom. From there, I opened a smaller, flat gift they had attached and noticed it was from Liam. He had wrote a book? It was in his writing with a bunch of stickers and pictures. It was all about him and I and then when Sam came into the picture.

"He made it and got an A on it in school," Paul said. I glanced up at the two boys and smiled. "Come here you crazy man," I said to Liam. He ran into my arms and I kissed him. "Thank you so much buddy."

"Of course mommy," he said. From there, there was a white long envelope off to the side in Paul's writing addressed to me but he said to read it later. So anyways, after that, we opened more things from the Pack. Sam had got some new shorts, which was kind of funny; I had gotten some books, a memory album that I could do, a journal, and little trinkets. All in all it was great. There were so many gifts for Sam and I both.

"Bella," a voice rang out at the front door. Turning around I froze in spot. It was Phil.

"I-uhh," he said clearing his throat, "am sorry I'm late."

"It's…that's okay," I said biting my lip. He stepped closer to me and hesitantly put his arms around me.

"Good to see you kiddo," he said.

"You too," I breathed.

"So umm…" I said trying to get everything together. "This is my fiancé Sam," I said pointing over to where he was somewhere behind me.

"Nice to meet you Sir," Sam said in a gruff voice.

"You too Sam," Phil said.

I could feel the stares of everyone around me and the beat of my heart was making me go deaf. I couldn't think for the time and barely function.

"Bella," Sam said nodding over to the living room. Just barely smiling at Phil, I followed Sam as he took my hand and left the room.

"Hey," he said searching my eyes. I blinked a few times, gathering my thoughts as much as I could.

"You alright?" he asked me.

I nodded and wrapped my arms around his waist. I tried not to think of what Phil's presence meant to me. Instead I took comfort in Sam for a little before dragging myself to return to the party. Sue and Charlie stopped Sam on our way, but I continued the path without him. Phil was talking with Letty who seemed happy to meet the man.

"Bella, can we talk?" Phil asked. I nodded and Letty said her goodbyes. Phil and I stepped outside, gathering our thoughts as we took comfort in the peace of the nature around us.

"You did good for yourself here," he spoke, cracking the silence.

"A lot led me here," I said back.

"Your home is beautiful," he tried.

"There was help," I added again.

"Bella, I'm trying," he said. I bit my lip, not sure what to say to that.

"Look, I know it's awkward, and I should have been on time," he trailed off.

"Its okay, time doesn't mean anything. That…not even the problem," I spoke.

"Then what is?" he asked.

"Not sure," I said letting out a breath. "You just…back that's all."

"You sent me an invitation to your wedding, did you not expect me to come and support you?" he wondered.

"Partially," I spoke with honesty. "but I wasn't sure what to expect."

"Bella-roo," he said calling me by his nickname he made up for me. I always thought it was a little childish but I still liked it, and so did Renee. "things were hard after your mother died," he spoke.

"I know," I whispered. He sighed, "right well, I took it badly, worse than I should have and I left you to fend for yourself- I shouldn't have. You were still young and its not an acceptable thing to do as a parent- I saw that. But I didn't open my eyes until after I ran off. It was like, I needed to get away and try to put everything back together myself. When I went to go beg for your forgiveness, you were already gone."

"Phil," I sighed.

"Bella, I'm not here to look for an acceptance to my lame apology- I don't deserve one, but I want to watch you walk down that aisle. You, no matter what, are considered my daughter and even though I may not be the greatest father, I would still like the honor of sharing that title with Charlie."

Tears welled up in my eyes and I let my heart feel. There was immense pain but there was also healing. I felt my emotions want to knock me to my knees but somehow I still stood.

"Yes," I said, "you can have that title too."

Phil let out a breath and walked over to hug me.

"I'm so sorry Bella," he whispered.

"It's okay," I said hugging him. Sniffling, I pulled back and let him in my heart. "I'm not mad at you anymore Phil, and I fully forgive you even if you don't think you should be. I just… want to take this slow again okay?"

"Okay," he agreed as he wiped away some of my falling tears.

"Here," he said pulling something out of his pocket.

It was a locket of Renee's. Phil and I had given it to her for her birthday, and it was one of her most prized possessions. Sucking in a breath, I looked at the shiny silvery jewelry dangling in front of my face.

"I had to clear out some of her stuff and grab her possessions. You were always close to her heart," he said grabbing my hand and placing the necklace in my palm. I knew what was inside of the locket, a picture of her and me. It was small but perfect. She hadn't filled the other side yet and I wasn't sure if I ever wanted to now either.

"I'll see you on your wedding day," Phil told me with a kiss to the crown of my head.

"Where are you going?" I croaked.

"I have some getting ready to do before my daughter's big day, I'll see you soon though, don't worry," he said and walked to his car. I wasn't sure how long it was that I continued to be outside. The party just didn't seem to hold any thrill to me anymore. Moving to sit on the steps, I gazed down at the locket in my hand and shakily opened it. A floodgate of emotions broke through all of the walls I was holding and tears ran down my face. I was on her back smiling into the camera- both of our faces shining. As I covered my eyes from the sight, my tears continued to pour and I wondered how I was getting through life without her.

My mom was my everything. My best friend had left me because she couldn't face life anymore. And as much as I wanted to hate her for that, I couldn't. But I did hate myself. I couldn't see how much my best friend and mother was hurting. I didn't see her pain and sorrow.

I sifted a hand through my hair and glanced back down at the picture. We were so happy then, what happened to us. My mind flashed back to her smile and touch. The way she spoke and phrased her words. Closing my eyes, I thought of her skin touching mine and her hugs that enfolded my body. A hard bite to my lip made me break down again. Slowly I was starting to lose those memories and I knew I would never get them back.

Charlie came out to the front and gathered me into his arms. My wretched sobs and cries escaped my lips. All of these feelings were for her and what she was missing. Her baby girl was growing up and she wasn't here to experience it with me. My life was just beginning when she ended hers and now all I wanted was her to come back.

Charlie kissed my head and rubbed my arms but I still couldn't remove that knot in my stomach or the swell in my throat. I had felt sick and broken hearted without her.

As I clenched the locket in my hand while Charlie held me, I pictured her face, her smile, and the smell of her perfume she would wear when she went out. The perfect vision on her appeared in my mind and calmed me down.

"I love you Bella," she said in that voice of hers. More tears slipped down from my eyes and I could only whispered, "I love you too mom," in my head.

_**A/N: So, this chapter was pretty sad but I really want to get the point across of how close Bella was with her mother and how much losing Renee really affected her. Hopefully I pulled it off and you all shed a few tears…  
>P.s. Don't worry, happiness is coming and the wedding will be up soon!<strong>_


	29. Chapter 29

I woke up feeling worn and tight skinned. The locket of Renee's was still in my hand and my stomach sank again. Rushing to get up from our bed that I was placed in, I emptied the contents of my stomach in the toilet.

"Bella!" Sam said rushing into my aid. I slumped down to the floor after washing out my mouth and laid the back of my head against the base of the sink cupboard.

Sam kept a hand on my knee and then lightly squeezed my hand. It was his way of telling me he was here for me, but it wasn't what I was needing.

"Bella," a voice said, and it was Esme with Sue and Letty. Mothers, exactly what I needed. Tearing up again, Sue told Sam to leave, who was adamant about staying but was kicked out finding it was best for my healing- according to Letty. The women sat next to me on each side and in front of me, comforting me in their own way. Esme pushed the hair from my face while Sue rubbed my hands and Letty held my knees. Tears fell again and I didn't have the energy to wipe them away. Words didn't have to be expressed on the sadness I was feeling. The words were probably missing from the dictionary anyhow.

I kept trying to convince myself to pull my emotions together. I had dealt with Renee and how I felt about her a while ago- I was supposed to be a new person here with a fresh start. But with the wedding approaching and all of these new thoughts, my walls were crumbling and I was falling.

I never thought she would be missing the life I would create. It never hit me that she would miss my wedding day or the house I found myself living in. I didn't even think about her grandchildren she would never see.

"Why?" I croaked out. My body curled it self-together and my stomach rumbled with a sickening knot.

Esme's cold skin against my forehead felt like relief and I could only close my eyes to try and get peace.

"I'm hurting Sam," I breathed trying to pull everything together.

"Right now, don't worry about him," Sue said.

"Bella?" Letty asked. I opened my eyes and stared at her.

"Its okay to let it out, the boys can handle themselves," she said.

Nodding, I tried not to think about it, even though the women wanted me to, but I felt more again anyways. It was like they had magic words and made me do as they wanted. Pain in my heart knocked me down further and I let out a small sob.

My hands were now moist and the locket was slipping. Swallowing my knot in my throat, I looked down and glanced at my hands. The women sighed and Esme went back to running her hands through my hair.

"Why does it hurt so bad?" I asked.

"Because she's your mother," Sue said gently.

Closing my eyes, I shut the locket, telling myself I wasn't shutting Renee away or telling her goodbye, I just needed to close it to get some peace. Standing up, I went over to the bathroom mirror, let go of the locket to hang from my hands and then clipped it to my neck. It hung perfectly on my chest, right where her's used to be and that set me off again. I bit my lip leaning against the sink telling myself not to cry, but I knew it would be okay with all of my surrogate mothers with me.

The pain slowly faded away as I wished the thoughts of her away. I wanted this week and today to be happy, it was supposed to be but with my drama and me I ruined it. Guilt hit me hard and I ran some water over my face. Staring into the sink, I took a second to close off that ugly box of emotions and took the towel from Esme's hand.

"I'm okay now," I said. All three women smiled gently at me. Sue was the first one to step up and wipe some hair from my forehead. "We are always here if you need us."

I nodded and hugged her.

"We mean it Bella, mothers stick together and take care of their loved ones," Esme said with a smile. I let out a laugh and nodded, hugging her next.

"We'll give you some time to compose yourself okay? No rush on coming down," Letty said with a hug.

So after they left me I sat on the bed for a while. I was somewhat glad they were still holding back Sam. I wasn't sure what to do, say, or how to feel. I was just in a temporary blankness.

"Bella," A voice said that surprised me. It was Joshua Uley, Sam's dad.

"Hey Mr. Uley," I croaked.

"Is it okay…" he said referring to step in the room and close the door. I nodded and he did just so.

"It's hard losing someone isn't it," he spoke sitting next to me on the edge of the bed.

"too hard," I admitted.

"I heard from Sam how…she died," he said carefully. "That's a rough one kid."

"Its unfair," I spoke, "that she would do this, but it's what she wanted," I said feeling tears come in my eyes.

"I don't think she was thinking like you are now," he said. "To do such a thing…it's…selfish. But I don't think she even meant to leave you."

"I miss her," I said, "more than just that…I can't breathe." Tears filled my eyes and a few poured down, "its-"

"I know," Joshua said taking my hand.

"You'll get through it, it takes time and talking, but it gets better."

"I thought I had this all down," I said, "but now,"

"It's different," he said knowing exactly how I was feeling. "When I lost Sam's mom it was like everything shattered. But that wasn't until later. For a while everything was just blurry. I had lost my mate and I expected myself not to go on."

"How did you?" I asked.

"Life was still ahead of me- and Sam," he said. "I couldn't leave my kid like that and I couldn't do that to myself. I knew things were going to change and she would be missing so much, but apart me always thought that…if she was in my heart, and staying in the back of my mind, I would always have that part of her and keep her safe."

"Do you still feel that way?" I wondered.

"All the time," he said. "I look to Sam now, after all of the years and notice how much he has changed; and I think to myself I wish Laura was here to see that. He's become a man I could never be and the son she always knew he was. But that has a lot to do with you being in his life," he said.

"Bella, you will always break down here and there- hell, I still do and its been years since my wife was gone, but you move on. Things will make you move on and continue living. There are people all around to help you get through what you are feeling and although our pain may not be the same, we still share commonalities and can help you move on in the best way possible."

"I feel like I'm forgetting her though," I admitted.

"Nah, you just think that because you cant conjure up a memory of her as easy. You'll always remember her Bella, maybe not as much as you first did, but she's your mom and that counts for a hell of a lot."

* * *

><p>Sam's dad left a while after we talked and it made everything a lot easier. It was true that the people around us had lost people, take Scott or Will for example. Scott lost his wife and Will doesn't really have his mom. Paul too. He barely had a mother at times and never had a father hanging around. Sighing, I stood up and went to the balcony. The door opened to the bedroom again and this time I knew it was Sam. Turning to face him, I bit my lip and walked towards him.<p>

My head hit his warm chest and I cuddled deeply beside him. Words again, couldn't fill the air. Sorry wasn't the word to speak and revenge wasn't the way to talk. It just something that came by and went, being dealt with in a time not always the best.

"I love you," I breathed.

"I love you too baby," Sam replied kissing my head.

For a while, Sam and I stood on the balcony scanning our eyes around the view we had. It was truly beautiful and made something settle down in me- peace.

"Ready to go down?" I asked.

"Only if you are," he said. I nodded and took his hand. Leading the way, I opened our bedroom door and braced myself for whatever could happen.

Liam approached me first and I picked him up in my arms. He held me close and played with my hair.

"That's pretty," he muttered taking notice to my necklace.

"Thank you Buddy," I smiled, "its from my mom," I said.

Everyone was quiet, watching me as I sat on the couch with Paul's son and my fiancé.

"Why isn't she here Elley?" he asked.

Paul went to go speak up but I beat him to it. "Remember when I told you some people don't always have mommy's? Well mine isn't here anymore either."

"But then who do you call mommy?" Liam asked.

"Those people over there," I said pointing over to Letty, Sue, and Esme.

"You have three?" he asked as the women smiled at us.

"You can have as many mommies as you want to Liam."

"I just want you," he said.

"Okay," I breathed, taking comfort in his hugs.

"I'm so sorry everyone," I said.

"Bells, its your mom, we get it," Jake said.

"even so, I still want to apologize. It makes me feel better," I joked. Everyone chuckled.

"What was she like?" Kim wondered.

"she was a kid," I said pretty bluntly. Everyone chuckled while Charlie nodded.

"Umm…my mom was a funny and very fickled person. She went through stages of being an artist, a yoga master, and an alcoholic," I said. "but she was my mom. There were always fun things to do and it made me realize I had to be the parent," I said.

"Phil seems cool," Jared said.

"Yea, he is," I said. "he's only like…10 years older than me though I think?"

"That's kinda weird," Leah said.

"Yea," I laughed. "I told Paul this before but my mom wasn't like a mom," I said solemnly , "she was just, I don't know. She always had those selfish antics and didn't care for rules, which makes me bothered because I'm so upset over her being gone. Anyways, I guess I had so much fun with that that is what I miss. She was an interesting woman but more like my best friend than my mom."

Everyone nodded, staying solemn and silent.

"So, now that that is over, can we party? Cause I really need some fun," I said.

"Bring out the alcohol," Andrea rolled. We all laughed and all did just that.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you don't want me to stay? I can switch patrols," Sam said as I sat on our bed reading.<p>

"Sam, you're driving me crazy, I asked the boys to switch with you. Now please, before you make your fiancée go nuts, go run wolf."

He rolled his eyes, sucked in a breath and then came to kiss me. "I'll be around, call me if you need me."

"Of course," I said going back to my book. Ever since the meltdown about Renee, Sam has been like a hovercraft. I was about ready to explode and I think everyone had felt bad for me. The wedding was just 6 days away and my husband to be was giving me stress lines. It was Billy and Charlie who finally told him he needed to lay off a bit and we had Embry switched patrols with him to give me some time off. (Sam took early patrols while I was still asleep so he could be with me from the time I go to up to the time I fell back asleep). So now finally I was laying in bed relaxing and reading a book I got from the party. Tucked in my book was the white envelope with my name on it from Paul and I forgot I hadn't opened it. Closing my novel, I sat up and tore open the envelope. Inside was Paul's writing scrawled on some lined paper.

_Bella,_ it started

_There's not much I can give you for everything you have done in my life. I used to think life was the most horrible thing- a curse and a plot of revenge for the way I was before- from my mother, to being a wolf and learning I had to becoming a father. But you change all of that. You helped my mom become her again, made me realize being a wolf was a good thing- that we protect other and it's apart of who we are, something we shouldn't try to change- and you helped shaped my son into the person he is today. Without you, my life would have been completely different than what it is now. I don't know where I would have been without you and I couldn't bare to think about it. I value what we have developed. Our friendship has always been different but it means everything to me. Your love for my son always astounds me and your faith in me always has me pushing for more. Liam is lucky to have you in his life, and to call you his mom yet again, so am I. There's so many great things for you and so many opportunities but you still stick with us. You continue to linger her and love us unconditionally. Thank you for changing me into a better person and thank you for all of the things you've done for my son. I hope to see you and Sam live the happily ever after you deserve. Imprinting is a blessing whether you see it yet or not and I will always be there to remind you. Treat yourself like you do with Liam and I, respect and love. You may not always be the one to open up to us Bella, like we do to you, but no matter how it comes down, we love you. There isn't a greater person than you and I wish you to see that. You've overcome so much and dealt with the strange. I'm proud of you for handling such things with strength and beauty. Bella, remember I always love you and will be there for you whenever you need me. I'll kick Sam's ass to the outskirts of La Push and back, no matter the consequences. From this time forth, I want you to know, whatever happens or how things go, you're always the girl who changed my life and opened my heart again._

_~forever in your debt,_

_Paul_

I was flabbergasted by the letter and touched beyond reason. I knew I had helped Paul but that was…woah. Folding the letter back up carefully and sticking it in the envelope I sat back and marveled life. Way of getting here and things we've all had to deal with. I couldn't believe I was actually here.

* * *

><p>Setting my book on the nightstand, I shut off the lights and went to bed, dreaming of the happy future I couldn't wait to have.<p>

I had set rules for Sam. No more hovering or I was calling everything off. It definitely set him in place and he apologized. I knew he was worried for me but even still, after Billy, Charlie, and the Pack told him to calm it down he couldn't. So now, I was in the kitchen baking my thoughts away while Sam was making some fresh orange juice.

"Are you ready to party?" Leah said coming in the house and sitting at the counter.

"Hey Le," I laughed.

"Bachelorette party #1 in effect," she said.

"Oh really?" I laughed.

"Sam, you should be telling your girl to go get ready soon," Leah said to her alpha. He raised a brow and looked at me. "Go get ready?"

"Thanks Sam," I laughed kissing him quickly as I left the kitchen. It was 3 days till the wedding now and I was getting more excited each day. Leah was taking us girls out to dinner tonight for the kid approval party. After dinner we were going to go hanging around at the beach, probably swim and stuff.

"Grab your suit, a sleeping bag, pajamas, pillow, and some clothes," she said.

"Where are we sleeping?" I asked.

"Outside," she answered.

"Why?" I wondered.

"Oh come on, it will be fun. The stars are supposed to be really pretty tonight and I have the whole thing planned."

"Alright," I sighed grabbing a bunch of things. Leah helped me carry all my stuff down and Sam wondered what the heck Leah had in store.

"Don't worry Sam, I'll get her back in one piece. Now, tell your fiancée you love her and goodbye because you wont be seeing her till rehearsal," Leah said. Sam groaned but came over to me anyways.

"I'll go put these in the car," she said taking my bags as Sam wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You're really going that long huh?" he asked.

"Sadly yes," I said with a small smile. He leaned down and kissed me. "Don't miss me too much okay?" I laughed. He groaned and laid his head on my shoulder.

"Just think, three more days," I sang. I could feel his grin even though I couldn't see it. Kissing my mark, I gave a tiny shiver and pulled him back to look at me. "Have fun at your party and don't get too carried away."

"Same goes to you," he said kissing me again. "I don't know, it's Leah, we'll see what she has in store," I laughed. Putting my purse over my shoulder, I kissed him one last time before leaving the house for good.

* * *

><p>"So what is in store for us today?" I asked as she pulled out of the driveway.<p>

"So much," she grinned.

"First, you are going to get changed at my house, the girls are already there. Then we are going out to dinner."

"Okay," I said.

"what else?"

"Well, I plan to order you a drink so there's that," she snickered, "and then back to the beach, maybe a late night swim and some s'mores."

"yum," I said cranking up the radio. As Leah and I sang along to some jams, I noticed how close we were to her house. Gathering my things, I stepped out of the car as we arrived and went to go get ready.

"Hi girls," I said as I was greeted with Claire and Joey hugging my legs.

"You excited Bella?" Kim asked.

"Very," I smiled with my bags.

"Let's get changed," Leah suggested. We all nodded. Rose took the girls to go help them while Alice insisted on helping all of us.

I was modeling a pair of medium wash jeans, a crème three quarter length shirt that was plunge v-neck and flowy, and a long gold necklace. "You all ready to go?" I called while getting my black clutch.

"Dang bride to be," Leah called as she walked down the steps. I let out a laugh and blushed. "Come on already, I'm starving."

"Here," Sarah said coming over to me. She made me bend my head and fixed my sash. "you aren't serious," I said.

"oh, we are," Andrea said coming out to look at me while putting on her earrings. I had a sash that said 'bride to be'.

"Okay, fine, are we ready?" I asked. Everyone nodded and we were on our way.

* * *

><p>Dinner was great but the bon fire was even better. At dinner, right when we walked into the restaurant it was all eyes and everyone gave me their congratulations. I was blushing like crazy. So we ate and talked, pretty normal stuff. The bon fire was something different though. All of us changed out of our clothes and into our suits, with the plan of jumping into some ice-cold water. (They had also still made me wear the sash keep in mind). While carrying our stuff down there, we noticed other people were around having a bon fire. Great.<p>

It didn't stop us though. Leah made us all set down our things and literally run into the water. Now keep in mind its La Push and Washington. The water was freaking freezing. I had never felt so cold in my life and was practically wishing for Sam to come warm me up when I got out. All of us girls had our teeth chatter and were blue lipped by the time we came out. Leah already had a fire going which was good so we wrapped ourselves in towels. It was funny though, something I forgot to mention was the group of people who had their own fire. When we ran into the water they all hollered saying we were crazy. And truth be told we were, but it was the most I've had in a while. We swam, had a water fight, and even tried to see who could stay under the cold water the longest.

So anyways, when we came out, the group- who were mostly guys all congratulated me for the whole marriage thing, which I still blushed to even though I was blue, and handed us some more towels of their own. It was super sweet and made me really enjoy La Push's hospitality.

"Bella, you still with us?" Andrea asked.

"huh?" I wondered snapping out of my thoughts.

"We were talking to you for like…five minutes," Leah said.

"Oh," I blushed still holding a towel around my shoulder.

"So are you getting excited?" Kim wondered.

"Do you even have to ask?" I said with a bright smile.

"Are you girls excited to walk down the aisle?" I asked Joey and Claire. They both nodded, "I can't wait for my daddy to see me," Joey said plucking the burnt marshmallow in her mouth.

"He is going to be very excited," I smiled.

"We're like princesses," Claire chirped. Rose smiled and we all laughed, "that we are," I agreed.

After a while, and much warming up we kept a fire going and laid around talking.

"How are you and Cole Leah?" I asked.

"Really good. I honestly don't care about imprinting anymore. Cole is the guy I want to be with, I see that now," she said.

"what about the whole thing with his parents coming to the wedding?" Rose wondered.

"I'm okay with that too. He thanked both Sam and Bella for it, and I really do want them to like me. It means a lot to Cole and if I can show them that through this, then so be it," Leah responded.

"How are you with your mom situation Bella?" Kim asked quietly.

"Better," I sighed, "I think just that one day had me falling apart. With Phil and the whole thing with the locket," I said looking down at the jewelry around my neck. "it's still weird but better."

"You can talk to us about it…" Sarah said hesitantly. I smiled at all of them and looked back down to Renee's prized possession.

"This locket, Phil and I gave to my mom when I was younger. She wore it everyday and never took it off. It hung perfectly around her neck, somewhat how it fits around mine. She always used to tell me that it was the perfect gift because I was close to her heart," I said. "And I think it meant so much to me because that was the extent of her motherly words you know? That wasn't the most best friend like thing to say; it made me feel like her daughter," I spoke. "Inside is a picture from us at the park one day. I think Phil took it. We were doing some crazy thing with the slides or the swings, I can't even remember," I laughed, "but it was a good day."

"How did she…" Andrea asked.

"Die?" I finished. She nodded. I somewhat forgot not everyone knew. I was surprised too that the boys hadn't told their imprints.

"Suicide," I said. glancing around I saw the little girls already asleep so I continued with my story. "I found her hanging when I came home for the weekend from college. She had tied a noose around her neck off one of those exercise curl up poll things," I said remembering the day. "I tried lifting up her legs to stop the pressure on her neck but I pretty much knew she was gone. It gets a little hazy but I remember running back downstairs and yelling out help. I think it was the neighbors who called 9-1-1."

"Bella," Sarah said with a gasp.

"Its okay, really. I've actually dealt with that part. Just the whole her not being here to see me grow up hit me like a ton of bricks."

"What about you guys?" I asked the three girls trying to get off topic. "How are your boys?"

"Living with Billy is always interesting," Sarah said. "Oh gosh, one time," she giggled, "Jake and I were umm- you know," she said, "and Billy walked in. I mean, we were on the couch and-"

"Eww," I said covering my ears. The other girls laughed, "I couldn't face him for a week," Sarah blushed, "and he was the one to finally come up to me and say it was okay- it was natural and all."

At that, we all really did start laughing hard. After a few more embarrassing stories went around, we all settled down and soon looked up to the stars.

"We're glad you have Sam Bella," Kim said.

"It makes him a better person," Leah added.

"And it gives you more stability," Rose said.

"Even though he's a wolf, he's a good one," Alice chimed in.

"And you fit well together- no imprint talk needed," Sarah quipped.

"I just wish you guys would make puppies already," Andrea said. We all laughed, "but seriously, you guys are a good couple."

"Thanks guys," I hummed.

"Isabelly?" Claire grumbled.

"Yea Claire Bear?" I said propping myself up on the elbows.

"I love you."

"Love you too baby girl," I said as she rolled over and fell back asleep.

"That was cute," Leah said.

"Adorable," Rose said.

"Hey you guys?" I asked after a while of silence.

"Hmm?" they responded. "Thanks for being here, and doing all of this. I love you all and you know that already, but it means a lot, for the words and stuff."

"Of course," they smiled. Slowly getting up from my sleeping bag, I grabbed my drawstring sack and went back over to the fire. In there were a few little boxes for everyone. Handing them each other own and even setting some by Joey (who decided to cuddle up against me and sleep with me) and Claire who were sleeping, I waited them to open their gifts.

The first box contained a necklace. It each had their names in loopy cursive writing. The second box held each of their favorite candies and a $100 to their favorite stores. From there, the last box contained a disposable camera and a journal/photo book.

"I thought for each wedding, cause we know they are all going to happen one day, we each document the nights and events. Something cool to remember," I said watching them.

"Bella," they all said loving their gifts.

"oh and maid of honor," I said getting up again to get something else, "this is for you."

Handing her another small box, Leah opened it up and found a tiffany's ankle bracelet and a personalized flask.

"I thought you might need to get an extra drink in there," I joked. Everyone laughed including her and she got up to hug me. There was a flash and we were temporarily blinded.

"I thought we were starting memories?" Kim said as we all looked at her. Eventually smiles appeared on our face after ending the temporary state of confusion From there, the camera came into great use and we all took silly picture to remember the night.

"These are really nice gifts Bella, thank you so much," Sarah said after we calmed down and relaxed. Everyone agreed.

"It's the least I could honestly do. You guys put up with bull shit and do a lot for me," I shrugged.

After we got the mushiness out of the way, Leah reminded us about how great tomorrow was going to be too.

* * *

><p>We woke up to brightness, or atleast that is how I did.<p>

"Morning Bella," Rose smiled.

"Hey," I groaned. Joey was already up playing in the water with Alice.

"Time?" I asked.

"around noon," she said. Sitting up and running a hand through my hair I saw pretty much everyone was still sleeping.

"Why did I get something extra in my gift too Bella?" Rose wondered. She held up a tiffany's bracelet.

"Because without, I wouldn't be here and I would have screwed everything up."

"I don't believe that," she said positively.

"I do," I said, "and I know it. You helped me when I needed it the most and stuck by me even when I was back up on my feet. Honestly, it was the least expected but the most welcome. You, like Leah and all these girls are like my sister. I don't know if I could live with myself if you were ever to walk out of my life. It just, it _couldn't_ happen," I said.

"But you didn't have to get me anything," she smiled.

"I wanted to," I shrugged, "I have a lot of money. It has to go somewhere," I joked. As the rest of the gang began to stir, we packed up our things and headed for Leah's. Joey was wrapped back up in a towel and picked up by Rose to go.

"Well, welcome home ladies," Sue said with a smile as she was making pancakes. "How was night number one?"

"A blast," we all responded. She chuckled. "Well breakfast, or lunch, in your case is almost done. Freshen up and the come sit."

Doing as we were told, we all took our time showing quickly and getting dressed. Scott had come to pick up Joey, but ended up staying for breakfast. Soon after that, we needed to get Claire home, so we all drove her back and told her we would see her tomorrow.

For the rest of the afternoon we hung around, eating pizza, watching movies and hanging around. Sue joined us for a little while before she had to start work for the night. Rose and Alice both went for a quick bunny hunt as we started getting ready.

A dress was thrown in my face and I was wondering what the heck it was for. "Come on, put it on," Leah said.

The dress was a yellow silk, off the shoulder style. It had the loose fabric again, hanging down where it covered my shoulder. After slipping it on, I was matched with a skinny black belt to go around my mid waist. From there, Rose did my hair and swept it up into a waterfall braid.

"Okay, why am I so dressed up?" I wondered.

"We are going out," Alice said.

"I thought we were drinking," I said.

"We are," Leah responded.

"But Sam…" I said.

"I know, I got around it though. I may be taking you clubbing but Rose and Alice are being the DD's. They are also to make sure we don't lose it too much."

"Alright," I said not sure if Sam was going to approve.

"Oh stop thinking Bella," Andrea said.

"Yea, if Sam doesn't approve of this well, oh well, he will have you for the rest of his life so he will have to get over it," Sarah said. I laughed at all of them and decided to go with the flow. One of my last nights being single.

"Smile!" Alice said as she brought out a camera. We laughed, smiling together as we went to get the night started.


	30. Chapter 30

Sam was going to kill us all for sure. We walked into the club for free of course and everyone was on us. Even more so me because I had to wear another stupid sash saying 'going to be a Mrs.'. Like what the fuck, where do you get those sayings? Anyways, so after grumping about that, I was bought numerous drinks. And I shared them with my maid of honor, who was getting even more because she was that role. Soon, Rose was telling the crowd enough and Alice was cutting Leah and I both off. There honestly should have been more sober vampires because while the two of them were stopping us, the three others, Sarah, Andrea, and Kim were pretty much wasted.

"Okay, time to go back," Rose said. Alice perfectly agreed and dragged us out.

"ow, ow, ow," I said with each step. My black stiletto heels were killing me. "ow, ow," I continued.

"Come on Bella," Rose said letting me take a shoulder of hers to lean on. Leah was pretty tispy, possibly drunk but she walked well enough that no one had to assist her. The three imprints though, definitely needed it. Alice had her hands full with two of them.

"I love alcohol," Kim giggled.

"Me too," Sarah laughed.

"Not as much as I love it," Andrea slurred.

"That, was so much fun," Leah declared.

"It was," I laughed.

"You all should see yourselves right now," Rose chuckled.

"We're fine," Leah said with a slurr.

"Definitely not," Alice said back. We all laughed while Leah drunkenly grumped.

"Bella's getting married tomorrow!" Sarah sang.

"Actually the next day," Alice spoke.

"Oh whatever party pooper," Sarah replied. This caused us to laugh again and soon almost fall over.

* * *

><p>"Finally back home," Alice said dropping her two drunks.<p>

"Thanks Rose," I said sitting on the step to pull off my shoes. I was somewhat drunk but not bad like the girls.

"Let's dance," Andrea said.

"Yea!" Kim said.

"Turn up the jams!" Sarah declared. We all laughed a bit but did it anyways. We began dancing around the living room to some pump up beat and singing at the top of our lungs. By 3 am we were still up and having the munchies. We ordered pizza, had a jar of peanut butter with spoons in it, popcorn, which spilled around the floor, sodas, more liquor, and some jelly beans I think.

"oh! Nutella!" Kim said coming back from raving the cabinets again.

"Yum!" Leah said finding her finger to suffice. She was now officially drunk after finishing some tequila around here.

"look what I have!" Sarah said holding up some big bags of chips. Rose and Alice laughed at us, making sure to take a bunch of pictures as we were very unsober.

* * *

><p>"Oh my god!" a voice gasped. Groaning, we all began to wake up.<p>

The sunlight was blinding and I found myself with a major hangover.

"Holy crap," a male voice said.

"Ow," a voice rang. Squinting my eyes open, I found my head pounding and I felt like I had been run over my a truck.

"Rose?" I asked.

"Yea Bella," she said softly.

"We're hung over aren't we?" I asked putting a hand to my head

"Yea," she laughed. I let out another groan and opened my eyes fully to the site. Oh god. Food was all over and blankets were spread around in chaos. Some feathers were still floating around and I somewhat remember a huge pillow fight Alice and Rose were trying to stop between Sarah, Kim and Andrea. Leah and I sat back laughing while eating Nutella and peanut butter.

"I feel gross," someone groaned.

"Welcome to the land of the living," Alice chimed.

"Too high Alice," I groaned at her voice.

"Fuck," Leah groaned with a hand on her head. "I thought wolves can't get drunk."

"Well, you definitely made it possible," Rose laughed.

"No more alcohol," Sarah whined putting a pillow over her head. Groaning a bit I got up and covered my eyes with my hand at the sunlight.

"Hey Sue," I said noticing her in the doorway with Seth right behind her wide-eyed.

"Bella," Rose said. Turning to her, she threw me some pants. "Thanks," I said with a blush. Slipping on some sweatpants real quick, I turned back to Seth, "you didn't see that."

"Got it," he said still in shock at the sight of his living room.

"I see your second night was a success," Sue said.

"in a way," I groaned, thinking of my hangover.

"Go sit down, I'll get you some aspirin," she said motherly. Nodding, which hurt, I went to take a seat on the couch and still found Leah sprawled across it.

"Move," I groaned, shoving her legs off the cushions, which caused her to fall off.

"Ow, fuck," she growled.

"Oh, sorry," I said wincing at her noise level and pain.

"Here Bella," Sue said coming back in with a bottle water and some pills.

"You girls need to start getting ready, it's almost rehearsal time," Sue called.

"mom, the voice," Leah groaned, blocking her head over her face from the sun.

Sue rolled her eyes and walked off. "there will be a bottle of aspirin on the counter. Hurry up!" she reminded.

Groaning again, I laid my head back against the cushions.

"I hate you all," I muttered. Rose and Alice laughed at me.

"Go take a shower Bella, we can wake everyone else up," Alice said to me. Nodding, I slowly got up from the couch and made my way upstairs. Turning on the shower, I quickly stripped and stood under the spray. I was definitely hit by a semi last night.

Maybe 45 minutes later when I came out in a dress Alice had laid out for me, I found the girls picking up some of the mess and getting ready too.

"How was the shower? Did it help?" Rose wondered as she guided me to sit down so she could style and fix my hair.

"Not really," I groaned. "and please be very gentle with your voice."

She laughed, "okay Bella," she said softer. After that was all done, Sue came back telling us she was leaving with Seth and we better hurry up. So the girls rushed, which really wasn't rushing since we were suffering from such hangovers and soon made our ways to the car. Rose and Alice drove us again, thank god because it was so sunny out that my sunglasses were even working properly.

"Mommy!" Liam yelled as I made my way into the church.

"Ow fuck," I cursed as his voice ran in my ears. Soon, the rest of the little kids were running down the aisle for me.

"Mommy?" Liam wondered as I winced.

"Hey buddy," I said, "Girls, girls, and boy, lower your voice," I asked.

"But this is my normal voice," he said which caused me to wince again.

"I know but we are going to whisper right now," I said kneeling down to hug them all.

"Bella?" Paul wondered, coming in tow with the guys.

"Soft voices," I reminded while getting back up from the floor.

"You're hung over?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Soft voice Sam," I said again with a pounding headache.

"Leah," my fiancé growled.

"Ow," was all she said with a hand on her head.

"All of you?" Embry asked shocked.

"Again, lower the voice or I will lower it for you," I said.

There were some chuckles, but at the time, I was honestly being serious.

"Are you okay?" Liam asked in a softer voice as I held him.

"Yea buddy, just a head ache," I smiled slowly pulling off my shades.

"God," I groaned.

"Elley?" he asked.

Setting him down for a second, I closed my eyes and slowly opened them again.

"What happened to not getting too carried away?" Sam's voice asked, ringing against the church.

"please fiancé and husband to be, I beg of you, lower the voice," I said wincing again.

"Bella," he said hugging me to him. "You're hung over."

"Yes," I answered opening my eyes to look at him. "I am hung over but I remember everything, so it's not as bad."

"Its rehearsal. And dinner- you are hung over," he repeated.

"Yes I know, and I'm sorry. Things got carried away-…really carried away," I edited form the parts I remember strongly.

"Mommy," Liam said in a soft voice while tugging on my purple dress.

"Yea Liam?"

"When are you walking down the aisle?" he wondered.

"For practice? Very soon," I smiled but grimaced when the church doors opened and sunlight came in.

"Gosh, when did La Push get so sunny?" I groaned in Sam's chest. He rumbled with laughter, "it's a normal day babe."

"definitely not," I said snuggling into him.

"So how did this happen?" Jared wondered, holding his girl.

"Lots and lots of drinks," Leah groaned holding on to Cole.

"What happened to self control?" Quil wondered.

"I can't help it if they were buying them for me," I groaned.

"What?" Sam asked.

"oh fuck," I cursed with a whine. Sam pulled me back, "Bella, I thought you guys stayed in. No going out remember? You said you wouldn't."

"Leah, back me up," I said wincing at his serious tone.

"Lighten up," she barked.

"We took her out," Sarah exhaled, "she needed to loosen up some more, it was fun," she mumbled in Jake's side.

"Don't worry Sam, Alice and I were completely sober," Rose said. "Bella was fine when she left the club except for her feet," she laughed.

"but they continued the party at the Clearwater's," Alice added.

"I can attest to that," Seth spoke up. All eyes shot to him.

"My mom and I walked into them just getting up," he blushed.

"Bella," Sam sighed.

"Hug now, scold later," I groaned. The pack chuckled while each keeping an around their girls.

"Do you girls even remember anything?" I wondered to Kim, Sarah and Andrea.

"Umm…bits and pieces," Sarah said.

"Nope, not much at all," Andrea grumbled.

"I remember some wild things. I think we had a pillow fight?" Kim said.

Some of the guys groaned which made me roll my eyes.

"Yea, didn't participate in that one," I muttered. Leah then chuckled, "we judged," she spoke.

"Bella, how much did you drink?" Sam wondered.

"Too much?" I said wondering if that was going to fly. He gave me that look and I groaned. "I don't know, there were a lot of people who wanted to be nice and buy the 'to be a mrs.' A drink. I think I had a few beers, maybe a shot or two and a mixed drink."

"And when you got back to the Clearwater's?" he wondered.

"That was bad," I winced. "I think Leah and I finished off a bottle of vodka."

Sam growled. "I know," I said patting his chest, "You can kill me later."

"It was our fault," Sarah said.

"Yea, we wanted Bella to drink," Andrea groaned.

"Its fine guys," I grumbled. Running a hand over my face I got up. "Okay, come on lover, let's do this rehearsal."

"two more minutes," Kim groaned. We laughed.

"Bella, these are for you," Rose said handing me a mini bouquet of flowers.

"Wow, I get real ones?" I asked.

"of course Bella!" Alice voice rang. I winced a bit and she apologized.

"how much did you two have?" Jake wondered to his imprint. Both Leah and scoffed.

"A lot Jakey," Sarah groaned.

"A bottle of vodka, some rum, I think some wine too," I said looking to Leah for confirmation. She nodded, "you girls were started to get out wine glasses and pretended to be all mature and back in the day or something. The not so drunk people, like us, were laughing," Leah said.

"That's embarrassing," Kim whined.

"Oh, there are more," I laughed.

"Don't tell, just don't," Andrea whined.

"Ready to get the show on the road?" Sue asked coming up to us.

"I'm ready," I said. Glancing at Sam I found him beaming and doing the same.

"Okay, lets go," she said. Getting up, we positioned ourselves down the aisle. The boys were not actually going to be walking the girls down. We thought it would be a little cuter if the girls walked down themselves, that way we didn't have to figure out of we wanted imprint with imprint or what not.

As I was the last one to walk down, I began beaming. Sam was on my right, just watching me. As Charlie let go of my hand, he passed me to Sam and checked to make sure he was doing everything right.

* * *

><p>After rehearsal was over, Sam shielded me from the brightness of La Push and drove me to the dinner.<p>

"Baby, please, don't let them do this to you again okay?" he asked.

"It was just once Sam, we wanted to create some memories. If it makes you feel better, I did try to cut back?"

"Alright," he said kissing my head as we got out of the car.

Rehearsal dinner was pretty crazy. Not everyone was there but the Cullen's showed. I was a little curious why Phil hadn't shown up but I tried not to let it bother me.

"Bella Bean!" Emmett's voice rang. Wincing, I heard both Alice and Rose chuckle.

"Careful honey, she's a bit hung over," Rose warned him.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"You got drunk on the night before your rehearsal?" Edward said.

"Don't judge," I said, "it's been a long day."

The family laughed and wrapped me in hugs.

* * *

><p>Phil didn't end up showing that night, which made me somewhat angry. But anyways, Leah gave a small speech, wincing as she had to talk into a microphone, and told everyone why it was so short, saying she would make it up to me tomorrow. Then came Jared, and we wished it was kept short because the loud booming of it all was killing our heads. My hangover was wearing off, I will say that, but my ears were still a bit sensitive. The poor girls were still definitely suffering and I wondered if it would roll over into tomorrow.<p>

After speeches rolled along and we ate our meal, Sam and I talked amongst each other and thanked our guests for coming. The night went smoothly and I was washed from the alcohol.

"I think you should just come home with me tonight," Sam whined as we got ready to leave. "I don't trust Leah."

"Well then trust me, I am not touching another sip of alcohol. Plus its our wedding night, we cant see each other till I walk back down that aisle," I grinned sliding on my coat and pulling my hair out of it from behind.

"It's definitely too long of a time," he said sweeping me into his arms and kissing me softly.

"It will fly by," I smiled up at him. Sam put his forehead against mine and we gazed into each other's eyes. Blushing, I glanced away for a second and bit my lip.

"Sam," I said looking back at him.

"Yea baby?" he asked.

"We're getting married tomorrow."

He beamed at my words and pulled me into another kiss. "that we are."

* * *

><p>"Stay safe tonight? For real?" he asked me as Leah was pulling me away when we got outside.<p>

"I will, promise. You too though," I added trying to hold my feet in place.

"Always," he replied watching me.

"Love you," he added, taking Leah's hand away from my arm to grab me and lay a kiss on me. Smirking into it, I soon became a bit more serious as he tugged me to him as close as possible.

"I love you too," I breathed in a daze.

"See you tomorrow husband!" I called over my shoulder as I was forcefully taken away from Sam.

"See you then Bella!" he called back.

_**A/N: Short chapter I know sorry! I wanted to save the whole wedding thing for the next chapter so hope you're looking forward to that! Review please =)**_


	31. Chapter 31

**_A/N: Wedding time! Eeeppp! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I tried to do my best. Let me know what you think and hopefully all have good comments to spare? =)_**

After Leah pulled me into the car from rehearsal dinner, we returned back to her house exhausted and decided to go to sleep. We took her old room, which still held a queen size bed and slept on either side.

"Hey Leah?" I said into the darkness as I laid on my back fiddling my fingers against my stomach.

"Yea Bella?" she groaned.

"I'm getting married tomorrow," I breathed.

Her body rolled over and her face glowed against the moon. "You are, you ready?"

"absolutely," I grinned.

* * *

><p>Leah was then asleep within the hour and I was still tossing and turning. It was weird sleeping in a different bed without Sam. Sure, I did it last night and the night before, but one, I was drunk and two I was on a beach. This was a bed. Maybe I should sleep on the floor.<p>

There were a few clink clinks on Leah's window and I knew it was my Sam. Getting up as quietly as I could, I opened the window, full blown grinning.

"We are breaking tradition you know," I whispered loudly.

"I can't sleep without you," he said, "Especially not tonight."

"I know," I sighed.

"Sam?" I asked.

"Yea baby?" he wondered as we gazed at each other.

"I fee like a princess in a castle being swept off her feet by my prince," I admitted with a silly blush.

"Well then my lady, will you please jump down so I can save you?"

"Here? Right now?" I asked wide-eyed. He nodded, "I can catch you."

Biting my lip, I debated it.

"You're seriously thinking of jumping out that window?" Leah grumbled with her eyes closed. My jaw slackened as I didn't know she was awake.

"Say goodbye to your lover and get your ass back in bed. No contact is supposed to happen tonight. Don't make me do it for you," she threatened while still laying in bed. Gulping, I turned to Sam and waved. 'Love you' I mouthed and shut the window.

"It's just one night Bella, you will have him for the rest of your life," she murmured as I slipped back under the sheets and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>The sun was shining against me and people were humming the wedding tune. Swatting the voices away, I heard a laugh and a voice sing out 'wedding day!'. I knew it was Alice, which made me hide even further. I didn't want to get up yet- too early.<p>

"Come on, let's go. You have to get up and get to the church to get ready!" Alice exclaimed. Groaning, I let my brain start to awaken and light shine to my eyes. Slowly, sitting up, still groggy from the late night, I realized all of my bridesmaids were around me.

"Oh, hello," I said surprised since I was somewhat unaware of them.

They all chuckled and greeted me good morning.

"Come on, you have to shower and have Rose dry your hair," Kim said helping me up.

"Hangover gone?" I asked the three.

"Thank god," Andrea replied.

Laughing at her answer, I was pushed into the shower and the noticed I had custom made towels that said 'bride' along with slippers and a robe to match.

Smiling, I turned on the hot water and got ready. I washed my hair twice, shaved precisely, washed up my body and then washed my hair one more time just incase I missed a lock or two. When I got out, I slipped on my slippers, dried myself off and tugged on my robe.

"Alright, come here," Rose said, making me sit on a vanity.

"When did this come here?" I asked now positively bewildered.

All the girls in the room laughed at my facial expression.

"Just a few minutes ago. Emmett assembled it really quick," Leah explained. I nodded and watched as Rose did her work. We were all going to get ready at the chapel. They had rooms for each the bride and groom to do their thing. The photographers were even supposed to meet us there.

After my hair was done, I slipped on a tank top and a pair of white shorts. Apparently I had to go all white today, no matter what I was wearing. They put another sash on me, but this time, this one was white and said 'bride'. I smiled at the title and went to leave. Carrying a bunch of things, along with the rest of the girls, I said my hello's to Sue, who stopped to give me a hug and kiss and then we hopped in ours car and left.

* * *

><p>Waking up at the Clearwater's and showering was the easy part. As soon as we stepped inside to our large room to get ready, everyone was in full swing. There was Sue, Letty and Esme to help the bridesmaids, while Alice and Rose had me. The photographers hung around us, being somewhat of a nuisance as we worked.<p>

I sat at the vanity, watching as Rosalie was figuring out how to do my hair. Alice was standing beside me on my left with a bunch of make up kits and other supplies.

"Bella, how about this?" Rose said staring at me in the mirror. I looked to myself and beamed. My hair was curly, but I knew she would curl it some more. It was almost like it was in a messy bun, but prettier than that.

"Perfect," I said. She got down to work, putting bobby pins in and doing a bunch of other things. Since Rosalie was still working on my hair, Alice went to go help the rest of the girls. One by one I watched them all get ready through the mirror in front of me and they all looked so pretty.

"All done," Rosalie smiled taking the curling iron away from my face. Little wispy's were hanging down from my face and my hair looked amazing.

"Thank you," I gushed. She nodded and called Alice. The pixie vampire immediately sped over and went to work. She made me face her and started by plucking my eyebrows and moisturizing my face.

After that, I watched her face as she swept brown brushes over my forehead, cheeks and nose. She was in such concentration that I broke out into a smile or two and made her do the same.

She applied some mascara to my eyes, blush to my cheeks, eye shadow to my eyes, and even eyeliner on my rims of my eyes. There was so much makeup on the table I was moderately afraid of what she was applying on.

"How's that?" Alice asked making me take a look in the mirror. I gasped at the sight, seeing a person I didn't think was me.

Touching my face, I sat there amazed. It was me, Bella Swan. Nodding, she smiled and called for Esme.

"Bella," the mother smiled, "you look absolutely gorgeous."

"Thank you," I said bowing my head with a blush on my cheeks. As I looked up back to the mirror, I found Sue and Letty there too.

"Honey, you look stunning," Sue said putting a hand lightly on my shoulder. I blushed again and thanked her.

"This is for you, we wanted to give you something special for your big day from us mothers," Letty said. Glancing back, I saw they were holding a long blue skinny jewelry box. Opening it up I saw a bracelet made of diamonds. The piece of jewelry was thin, made of all sparkly stone all around and had a perfect shaped heart in the middle. That too was gleaming bright.

"I…" said speechlessly.

"Well lets see it on you," Letty smiled. Tearing up in the slightest, I shakily took it in my hands and had Sue help me put it on.

"Gorgeous," Esme smiled as I looked at the piece of jewelry on my wrist.

"thank you so much," I breathed, giving them each hugs. From there, Alice scolded me for tearing up and told me I can't cry yet. I laughed, which was easily caught on camera.

"Next is your dress," Alice said smoothly. Getting on the dress was quite a process. Sue grabbed it from the big box and we all opened it up, marveling at its beauty. After that Alice said: "Come on," and clapped, "shed the clothes."

Chuckling, I slid off my shorts and tugged away my tank top. I stood in my lacey white strapless bra and thin band panties, waiting to be helped with putting on the dress. As they helped me step into it and slid it up my body, I let out a breath and saw this day was really coming true. I stood on a platform with a three-fold mirror in front of me, marveling at the woman who was supposed to be me.

"Well, if I do say so myself, I have some talent," Alice joked. We all laughed and I nodded, "yea, you definitely do."

The photographers began taking more and more pictures. Many were of me just gawking at myself in the mirror, which is embarrassing if I do say so myself, while the rest included my mothers, my maid of honor and quite a few with each bridal girl.

"Isabelly, you're shoes!" Claire exclaimed running to me with them. We all laughed, forgetting about those darn things. I moved with my dress sitting down in a chair while Leah kneeled down and put them on. "Your highness," she joked. We all laughed.

"Ladies," Paul said interrupting us as he stuck his head in the door.

"Mommy!" Liam squealed pushing it open from his father's grasp so he could run over to me.

I smiled at the boy, catching him in my lap and kissed his nose. "Hey you."

"You look _really_ pretty," he said taking note of my dress, hair and makeup.

"Well you look pretty handsome yourself," I smiled tugging on his little tux.

"Bella, wow, you look…gorgeous," Paul said breath taken as he walked over to huddle of girls around me.

"Thank you," I smiled, patting Liam to get down from my lap so I could get up. Standing with my shoes on, I took a second to get used to the feeling.

"Wow," Liam breathed. Grinning down at him, Paul took my hand as I lifted my dress with the other one and I walked to stand on the platform. This girl definitely could not be me.

As everyone made a spectacle of me in a huddle, I saw some else enter the room. It was Charlie and Phil.

"Bella," my dads said both gasping at the sight of me.

"Hey daddies," I smiled.

"Bella-roo," Phil said stepping up first, "your mom would be so proud of you right now," he spoke. Glancing back up at myself in the mirror I nodded and let tears pooled in my eyes. Everyone seemed to stay quiet and watch the scene. "She would also be balling her eyes out," Phil joked. We all laughed, letting it crack the tension.

"Bella, you look unbelievable," Charlie said coming up now.

"Thank you," I breathed, "you ready to help me walk down in these shoes?" I joked, lifting up my dress some more to show him. They were pretty decent size heels and I really didn't want to trip. Charlie nodded but then glanced at Phil. "Its okay you know if you want to…"

I shook my head, "he understands," I said giving a smile to Phil who was nodding.

"Don't feel guilty Charlie, you deserve this so much more than I do," he said clapping the man on the back.

"Not the way I would phrase it but it works," I joked. As the tension eased down some more I continued to stand there and look at myself. It was unbelievable how me I looked in the mirror, yet not. Giving myself a full glance over, I trailed down to the details of my shoes and back up. My eyes hit my mother's necklace and I raised my hand up to hold it tightly. She would be proud of me as we gazed in the mirror together. And… she would be crying like Phil said. But I think most of all I think she would be happy for me that I found a man like Sam to make me cherish life in the ways she couldn't.

A loud giggle of laughter from one of the younger kids had me breaking out of my thoughts. It was Collin, who was tickling Claire and messing with Joey.

"Hey Bella, you look amazing," he said as I caught his attention.

"Thank you," I smiled stepping down the platform and giving him a hug. Paul, with Liam, had stuck around the room while the dads went back outside to take note of how the crowd was filling in.

"Hey Resse," Collin said to his 'crush' that was on the team to take pictures of me in here.

"Hi Collin, you look really nice," she smiled cheerfully as she looked to his attire.

"Thanks," he slightly blushed.

"Can I get a picture of you two?" she asked. He nodded and came to stand next to me. After she snapped a few pictures with her high tech camera, the two teens started to talk for a bit and I was pulled near Paul.

"Sam's a lucky guy you know," he reminded me.

"Thanks," I laughed fiddling with my necklace.

"You okay?" he wondered reading the hint of sadness in my eyes.

"Yea," I breathed, "dealing with everything as I go along."

"Well, you look absolutely gorgeous in doing so," he said kissing my cheek. My heart melted at his words and I knew how great of a guy he was.

"Paul! Don't make her cry!" Alice yelled as I had signs of tearing up a bit. Rolling my eyes, I wished them away and let Paul laugh at the vampire.

We talked some more after the scolding and Liam soon joined us too. Paul had picked him up in his arms so I wouldn't somehow ruin my dress.

"Alright Paul, time for you to head out," Letty said coming over to us. I noticed Collin literally being shoved out of the room too by Alice as she cut his conversation with Resse short.

"Bye mommy, you look really pretty," Liam said leaning over to hug my neck. Paul 'second' that and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek as Letty ushered her son out.

"See you down at the alter big guy," I replied as they shut the door. With that, I gave Letty another smile and went over to all my bridesmaids.

"You all ready?" I asked.

They all let out squeals of their own and we hung around to talk. There were only a few minutes to go till we had to line up, and with each second ticking by I was getting antsy.

"Ready to go sis?" Leah asked bumping my shoulder with her. She looked really pretty too, with her dress and white high heel shoes.

"beyond ready," I groaned, just itching to get out of the room.

"Then lets go," Kim cheered. The little ones jumped in excitement and we all moved along out of the room.

"Joey!" Scott called waiting outside the room.

"Daddy!" Joey said running in his arms.

"Hey Scott," I said making a detour over to him.

"Bella…wow," he said standing at his full height as he looked over at me.

"Thanks," I blushed.

"Look it, I have a pomermander," She said.

"a pomander?" he asked looking at the ball of hydrangea flowers she was holding.

"Yea," she said nodding.

"Very pretty honey," he said kissing her cheek and setting her back down. "I guess I should get back out there. I just wanted to make sure she was behaving."

"She's great" I said looking back to where Joey ran off.

"Thanks again Bella, and you look…beautiful," he said with a hand outward shocked.

"Again thank you, and don't worry about Joey. Honestly."

He nodded and waved to me as he turned around and left.

"Okay! Lets go!" I said getting ready in the line up. Charlie suddenly appeared on my left sticking an arm out, while Phil appeared on my right doing the same. I gave confused look to the father I asked, but he shrugged. "We're both apart of your life I think its only fair to both walk our only daughter down the aisle."

Grinning, I tucked my arms under both of theirs and listened as the music began to play. Closing my eyes, I heard it start to grow silent and I imagined people turned to look at the door.

It was funny how this was unraveling and was playing out. Here I had Charlie and Phil strapped to each arm. It was like my life was uniting itself to fit my past and present. It made all those thoughts of Sam not fitting in my old life untrue because with Phil walking me down the aisle too, I knew my mom was becoming apart of the life I had started making here in La Push.

The first set of doors opened and I opened my eyes to see Andrea walking down the aisle with a orange and white rose in her hand.

I wanted the flowers my bridesmaid's were going to hold to be symbolic and have affect. With a bouquet, I couldn't really do that. When Jackson Leroy educated me on what roses stood for, with their individual meaning, I spread the translation to everyone. I had them each carry a single white rose, with another one, being a color. It wasn't just me who was innocent and in love. And I certainly wasn't the only one to be worthy of my mate. The couples we had created through fate all balanced each other out, somehow making us equal and made us significant of each other. So I wanted them to have a white rose. As for the colored one, it fit them. Andrea had a orange rose because she was young and had that desirable attraction for Embry.

She smiled at everyone, moving graciously down to the front of the church with the roses kept perfectly in place at her center.

Then next was Sarah. She held the red rose with a white one. The color was to signifying her passion for Jake. I knew she was nervous and had a fear of tripping, but she did well. Never once did she even stumble and I could only imagine Jake watching her with those big brown eyes of his.

From there was Rosalie and then Alice. Rosalie had carried a pink rose for her beauty and elegance, which was shown as she walked down the aisle, and Alice held a purple one, to symbolize her unique mystical self.

After the two Cullen siblings went down, Kim was placed next, who I knew was making full eye contact with Jared. She had a white and lilac colored rose in her hand- hers more signifying the love at first sight between her and Jared. I had a feeling her and Leah were next to get married but I could be wrong.

My maid of honor and sister Leah was next. She grinned like she had won the lottery- I knew she was, and walked down the aisle with her grace and strength. She held a white and yellow rose, showing how warm she was inside and out and the ways she carried a kind hearted friendship with me.

Lastly came Claire, all sweet and innocent. She walked down the aisle with two white roses. She was the most innocent of all and it was perfectly fitting to give her that color. Even with her and Quil's relationship blooming, she was innocent and pure. As she finished her walk down the way and turned to go stand by the others, she quickly scurried over to give Quil and gave him one of her flowers. Chuckles were ringing in my ears and I could see exactly what she had done through the glass doors in front of me (they were double sided).

Finally it was Joey and Liam. Joey had her ball of flowers since pedals were already scattered across the runway, and she walked with Will in sync. He made sure not to let the rings slide off the pillow while also not tripping in the process. Joey, just walked happily, enjoying how her role was playing out.

And that's when it came to me. Everyone stood and my heart fluttered.

"Ready?" Charlie asked me. I nodded.

"Alright, here we go Bella-roo," Phil whispered.

"Let's make it count," I breathed to the both of them.

The doors swung open and I looked up to where Sam would be. There were gasps and tears. But what I saw from my mate was more than that. Our eyes connected and it all clicked together. The clarity and the hardships, they all just peacefully made sense and quieted. Grinning at the look on his face, my feet began to move and I couldn't wait to be near him.

I walked down with my dads on both arms and blushed to the people around me. I was the center of attention, my beauty on spotlight. Taking in the presence of my Aunt Betty and Joe, along with Sam's dad and the Cullen's, I noticed how happy they all really were. The sparkly vampires were all grinning at me from ear to ear as I passed by them, Emmett standing out the most, booming with jolly joy.

As we approached Sam at the first stop, I met his eyes again and fell into the blissful love I felt for him. The wedding song faded and both Charlie and Phil let go of my arms.

"Take care of her son," Phil said putting out his hand for Sam to shake. He took it and shook it firmly, "I will," he said looking back into my eyes.

"Sam, you're a good man and I know you'll both do well. Bells," Charlie said kissing my cheek. He handed me off and I bit my lip in happiness. Charlie was never a man for words but he didn't really have to express anything. Just him walking me down the aisle and accepting Phil to take my other side was enough for me. My heart jumped as my skin touched with Sam and we both grinned to the reaction. As Charlie stepped away, Sam and I stepped up to the guy giving us the holy matrimony speech.

'I love you' I mouthed to him as we faced each other to listen to the guy talked.

'love you more,' he replied back. Holding back a laugh, because it was such a Sam thing to say, I tried to pay attention to our ceremony.

"Vows," he queued after some time.

Sam took a breath and started, "You know what it was like for me-love at first sight, but it was also more," he breathed, squeezing my hands lightly. "Our relationship started rocky but with every opportunity I had to know you, I fell for you even more. You're this person I can never get out of my head and to be honest I'm glad. Jared along with the rest of the guys says I'm whipped and a big mush ball, but as long as I have you, I will be that forever," he admitted as we all laughed. "I'm not sure what I can say up here because I'm not sure how to express my love for you. It's endless and forever lit. There is nothing that we can do to ever knock it down. And I'm glad to have met you. The circumstances were hard and it should have been easier, but I wouldn't change it for a thing because I got to step back and watch you be you. Bella," Sam said, "thank you for always being you- Even if you don't know who _**you**_ that is exactly, I am proud to see it and will remind you every day. I love you with every fiber in my being and the beats to my heart," he finished. I let out a breath and tried not to cry.

"Its okay now Bella, you can let them fall," Alice called out. We all laughed and then I nodded. Letting tear drip from my eye, I looked back up to my very soon to be husband and let him wipe the salty water away.

"Sam," I said in a large breath, "you have no idea how hard these vows have been to write," I spoke.

"Here here!" Billy called from the first pew. We all laughed again and I sent a blush the old man's way.

"I wanted to say so much, with my head and my heart both. I felt like you deserved so much and I couldn't make anything on paper perfect," I admitted, "but now we stand here, and yes, I'm winging it," I said making the crowd laugh, along with my mate, "I know exactly what to say. We've been through a lot from the start- that's been shared and told," I spoke, "but I've been glad to experience it. We've danced around each other and then passionately declared a relationship. We then took time to figure everything out and then let life slip off our finger tips," I said. "but now we're up here standing with each other declaring our love to an audience," everyone chuckled, "but I'm glad," I smiled. "I want everyone to know that life's events can never change the way I feel about you no matter how hard they try to knock us to our knees. I grew to love you, even as I tried to fight fate. And as it continues to pull us together, I still will love you until the day I die. Thank you, for bringing my heart and my head together, knocking sense into them both while showing the two of them love."

Sam smiled into my eyes and squeezed my hands. As there were a few more words exchanged, we grabbed the rings for Liam and slipped them on each other's fingers. In a blur of vague memory, I remember looking up to my husband's eyes and hearing those words, "I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss your bride."

* * *

><p>My lips were swept up again and again by Sam. From the time down at the alter of our first kiss as husband and wife, from the time where we got to walk away and have some time to ourselves in a private room. There were no cameras, no girls, or kids. It was just he and I in a small room with cheesy smiles plastered on our face.<p>

"I love you wife," he said putting his forehead against mine.

"I love you too husband," I breathed kissing him again.

By the time we finally could pull our lips away from each other, I snuggled into him, enjoying the fact he was looking quite dashing in a tux.

"So Mr. Uley, how was your first half of the wedding without me?" I wondered.

"Long," he groaned. "and you Mrs. Uley?" he wondered with that hint of pride in his voice at the words of my new last name.

"antagonizing. I was getting impatient and almost allowed Leah to slap me," I joked.

Sam chuckled. "I thought it took a long time for girls to get ready? Especially one's for their wedding day," he said kissing my head.

"When you have two vampire professionals going lightening speed on the hair and makeup, which are the most two vital things to a wedding day, you've got all the time in the world," I told him. Laughing some more, we just took the peaceful time we had to ourselves and enjoyed it.

"Hey Bella?" Sam said after some time as we got ready to go back out.

"Yea?" I said looking up at him.

"You look stunning."

Blushing, I didn't reply with my same 'thank you'. Instead, I leaned up and kissed those smooth lips I loved.

As we walked out of the church together, we saw lines on either side of us had been created and there were flower petals being tossed in the hair along with bubbles being blown. Both Sam and I laughed, ducking in cover as they were tossed in the air.

* * *

><p>It was picture time before we could go off to the rest of the party. I stood with the Cullen family, Phil, and even Sue, Charlie, Leah and Seth. Sam and I got a picture with his father, while we also took some with the Pack. It was great and pretty memorable. I'm pretty sure there were a few pictures in there off all of us cracking up.<p>

"Mommy?" Liam asked as the photographer was finishing up outside with some others, "can I have a picture with just you an me?"

"Of course buddy," I said still kneeling down beside him. Calling for the camera guy, I had him take one of Liam and I, and another with Liam, Paul and I. It was cute and I knew it meant a lot to the both of them.

"Ready to go take some more pictures, just you and me Mrs. Uley?" Sam asked coyly at my name.

"My jaw hurts," I jokingly complained.

"Come on," he said giving me a quick kiss as we followed the photographer's directions.

* * *

><p>We finished within the half hour, finding everyone already gone to the beach. That half of taking pictures was actually a lot of fun and easy. We didn't have to pose or act like we were standing how they made us. We just did what we wanted and kept everything at ease. So, Sam took our car, which was decorated with 'just married' thanks to the guys and headed towards the after party.<p>

"Can we pull off back to the house real quick?" I asked as we drove.

"Sure, why?" Sam wondered looking over at me.

"New dress," I explained, "a lot shorter- so much better." Sam laughed and squeezed my hand, kissing it as he brought it up to his lips.

We pulled up to our lovely home and unlocked the doors. Inside was the how we left it and I sighed in content. Even being away from it for two days made me miss this place. Going upstairs, I grabbed my after party dress I had in my arms and quickly stripped down to my skin.

"We are never going to get to of here if you don't put that other dress on in a few seconds," Sam groaned loudly, shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as he took in the sight of me in my lacey bra and panties. Laughing at his silly ways, I slipped the new dress up my body and made him approve.

"Zip please?" I asked. Pushing off from the bathroom doorway, he stood behind me and I craned my neck as he zipped up the zipper. A warm hand came around my waist and another went up my arm and over my shoulder. I let out a hum of pleasure and felt his lips touch my bare skin.

"I love you," he murmured as he kissed my shoulders and up my neck.

"I love you too," I breathed. His lips touched my mark and I shivered letting my eyes flutter close for a second. "We need to finish up here and get to our party."

Sam nodded, kissing just below my ear.

Grabbing my dress from the floor, I hung it back up nicely and held my red wine colored heels in my fingers.

"Wait," I said before Sam could drag me off. Going back to the bathroom, I turned on the light and began taking all of the bobby pins out of my hair. Pulling them one by one, my hair soon began to fall and I shook it out back to its natural curls. Satisfied, I went back to join Sam and left the house.


	32. Chapter 32

The after party was a sight to see. It was so much different than the church- more relaxing, casual, and free. Sam and I pulled up to the beach and he opened my door, helping me out of the car. Huge amounts of people were here and I wasn't sure if they were all people I knew.

As Sam and I walked down hand in hand, swinging our laced fingers in between us, we let the sand sift among our feet and enjoy the warm day.

"Ladies and Gentleman, I would like to announce Mr. and Mrs. Uley!" Emmett's voice boomed over the noise crowd as he saw us enter. Everyone stopped what they were doing and began cheering for us, which made me blush extremely hard and burry my face in Sam's side. My husband…-husband, what a funny word to say- was chuckling and held me close as I let the wave of embarrassment flush my cheeks. As everyone slowly dissipated around us to do their own thing, Sam swept me up into a long loving kiss.

I bit my lip as we pulled away, loving the way he could clear my head with such an action. He kept eye contact with me and held my hand, which was placed close to his heart.

"Ella, you look even prettier," Joey said stopping to look at my new dress as she announced a new nickname for me.

Pulling away from Sam with a kiss, I turned to my flower girl with a smile. "Thank you Joey. I think you look pretty gorgeous yourself." Kneeling down in the sand, I pushed some hair back from her face. She had been changed out of her dress like most of the others. Now she was modeling a crisp white tank top with cute kaki shorts.

"Brady!" her eyes lit up. Turning around, I found the kid walking near us. Joey ran to him, jumping in his arms as he caught her up in the air with a swoop.

"Hey Bella," Brady greeted, kissing my cheek and then turning back to his imprint.

"Bella!" Collin said walking over to us.

"Hey Joe," Collin smiled before turning back to me, "Kim told me to come get you."

"Why?" I wondered.

"Some bridesmaid thing," he said shrugging. Wondering what it could be, I followed behind him and looked around for where my husband went. Sam was off talking to Jared now with Liam in his arms. All three boys had shed their neckwear and tux jackets. Their sleeves were rolled up and shoes gone.

There was a loud squeal that interrupted my thoughts and I was attacked by a mob of girls.

"You're married!" Kim shrieked. I let out a laugh as the other girls were jumping up and down excitedly too. Like the boys and Joey, they were all changed out of their dresses and into more casual wear. Each of the girls was wearing a white shirt, whether it was a tank top, button up or short sleeve, and some kaki shorts, skirts, or capris. I liked the outfits admittedly, I thought they went well with the whole beach scenery.

"I am," I blushed.

"Bella! It was so pretty!" Sarah said.

"And look at you," Andrea complimented. I let out another laugh and continued to blush.

"Congratulations Bella," Rosalie said coming to hug me.

"I can't believe it!" Alice squealed as she hugged me next. I let out another laugh and let the rest of the females hug me.

"So how does it feel to be a wife to the man of the Pack?" Leah wondered.

"Oddly refreshing," I laughed, "I like it a lot."

All of the girls let out another shriek and it had us in fits of laughter.

"What has all you ladies in excitement?" Quil wondered with Claire in his arms.

"Just enjoying the married life," I joked, laughing as the boys of the Pack came to surround us.

"Hmmm, I like that," Sam said wrapping his arms around me from behind. I turned to smile up at him and laughed when I noticed all of the girls 'awwing'.

"Bella!" Alice sang coming back to join our crowd with her family.

"Alice…" I said suspiciously with narrowed eyes. I had started to discover when she said my name in that tone there was always something up her sleeve.

"This is for you, from all of us," she said referring to her family. Taking the pretty wrapped gift, I found a small box and opened it. Inside was a piece of paper and it said 'where's Liam?'

Confused, I looked all around and saw him with Letty holding a little German Sheppard puppy in his arms.

"No way!" I said snapping back to look at them. Everyone laughed and I glanced to Sam.

He was grinning like a fool and I was wondering if this was real.

"Mommy!" Liam said running over to me with the pup in his arms.

"Liam! What is that?" I asked picking him up.

"A puppy!" he said shifting it in his arms so the dog could lick my face. We both let out a little giggle and I stared at the fur ball. He was the cutest thing with his ears that folded over a bit.

"What's his name?" I wondered.

"I don't know," Liam shrugged.

"Its up to you Bella," Carlisle said.

"No pressure or anything," Jared snickered. Kim hit him on the chest and he immediately straightened up. We all laughed at that for a little.

"What do you think?" I asked to my husband.

"Anything you want baby," he said kissing my lips quickly.

"I like doggy," Liam said looking to the pup who gave him some kisses.

"Hmm, well we'll think about it," I laughed, along with the rest of the gang.

"Thank you," I smiled to the Cullens. "Of course Bella."

"Yea, we thought you might need another dog around," Emmett joked. I laughed.

"Actually, it was because that's how you first met us Bella," Alice said.

"Remember? Emmett lost the dog for Rose?" Edward said. I laughed again, smiling at those days. It seemed like such a long time ago.

"It was for one second- one second I left that pup," Emmett said trying to justify himself.

"Where is your dog anyways?" I wondered to Rose and Emmett.

"After Emmett gave Rose the dog, he took the puppy outside to go to the bathroom and left. Unfortunately the dog ran away again," Esme said.

"I barely left for a fraction of a second that time," Emmett said. We all laughed.

"We looked for him for days and then one day, we heard a kid named Joel had found him. His father made the boy return the dog to us," Carlisle said.

"But Joel really liked the pup. So we gave it to him and he keeps in touch with us," Rosalie said.

"Last time Emmett gets that type of gift," Jasper joked. We all laughed again and I kissed both the puppy and Liam on the head. Glancing around, I found Cole's parents standing together talking amongst themselves so I quickly excused myself.

"Buddy, I'll be right back okay? I'm going to hand you to Sam," I told Liam.

"Okay," he said kissing my cheek and going into Sam's arms.

"Be back," I smiled kissing my husband, shagging a hand through Liam's hair and thanking the Cullens again as I left the crowd.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jennings," I smiled, greeting each of them both. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course Isabella, it was so nice of you to invite us," Mrs. Jennings said dearly.

"Cole has talked a lot about you," Mr. Jennings pitched in.

"Thank you," I blushed.

"How are you all enjoying yourselves?" I wondered trying to make conversation.

"Very well thank you," Mr. Jennings said.

"Everything is beautiful Bella," Mrs. Jennings added.

"Well please thank my friend Alice Cullen and my maid of honor Leah, they both really took over the show for me," I said.

At the mention of Leah, there was a flicker of uncertainty on their face.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jennings," I sighed. "May I please be honest with you?"

They both hesitantly nodded. "Leah is like my sister and hopefully one day will be," I said. "I know that she met you both with Cole and you warmed up to her. But I also know you are both uncertain about where she is going in life and if she is right for your son. I can see that you are protective of Cole and honestly, I think that's nice," I spoke, "but Leah is one of the most unselfish and loving people I know."

"Isabella," Mrs. Jennings sighed. I cringed a bit at the name but cut in softly, "Mr. and Mrs. Jennings, I'm not saying this because she is my best friend as a girl, its just how I honestly feel. She deserves a chance to be happy with your son. And she's even asked herself that same question many times. There are some things you don't understand and there have been many hardships that Leah's faced in her lifetime. I want you to see that your son couldn't love a more perfect girl."

"Isabella, its not that we don't like Leah," Mr. Jennings said nicely.

"Right, you are hesitant on the couple's future," I spoke. They both nodded.

"Well I can't guarantee what their life will be like in a few months or even a few years, but I can say they will have each other's backs. Both Leah and Cole are so selfless and caring towards one another. I believe with a couple like them they are really meant to be together even when the people around them have doubts."

"We just worry about Leah's future. College, marriage and kids…" Mrs. Jennings admitted again while trailing off.

"Why not worry about that when the time comes?" I asked. "Mrs. Jennings, you have to understand. Priorities are different around the res. College is important yes, but family comes first- that is everything here in La Push. I know Leah hasn't explained this to you so I will. It is everyone's dream here to get a higher education and find a job- it was Leah's too. But her father passed away and things changed. Her balance in her family shifted and her little brother was the head male of the house. She made sure to help guide him along and get their mother back on her feet," I said with a sad smile. "She stepped away from her priorities to help her family. That is the kind of girl she is."

"We didn't know," Mr. Jennings said surprised.

"Leah isn't the type of girl to look for gratitude for her actions," I said kindly, "she is just that sweet, caring type of girl. I wish for you both to see that because it bothers her deeply that you don't fully approve of her. She wishes your son the greatest happiness and even he too is upset you don't fully enjoy Leah by his side."

"We see now Isabella," Mrs. Jennings said with a hand on my arm.

"I hope you do," I smiled genuinely. "Leah and Cole are both wonderful people. They are like family here and I hope you both become apart of that too."

"We would love it," Mr. Jennings said hugging his wife as he smiled at me. "Thank you for telling us about her Isabella. We really didn't know anything like this."

"Of course," I smiled.

"Bella!" A voice ran.

"Excuse me," I said taking leave from them.

"Mandy? Jesse?" I asked surprised as Alice was bouncing beside me with our guests.

"Hey," Mandy Moore smiled, giving me a hug.

"You look…wow," Jesse breathed giving me a hug next.

"Thank you," I smiled with a light blush. "So what are you guys doing here? I thought you had a tour?" I asked to Jesse McCartney, "and you were busy working?" I asked Mandy Moore.

"We had to stop by and see the bride," Mandy grinned. "Everything here is beautiful."

"Well please, stick around," I said still shocked.

"Hello? Hello? Can everybody here me?" Marie asked up on stage. Turning my attention to the woman, I smiled brightly and looked to Paul. He was grinning like a fool and turned to flash me a wink. There was still that bit of that old Paul in there.

"Well, for those who don't know me, I'm Marie Digby, and the infamous bride, Bella, invited me to tag along here," she smiled. "I got to know Bella through working with her the music industry. She's given me some top charted songs here in the United States and across the world," Marie grinned. "Now I'm supposed to start off this karaoke singing night, so I thought it was only right to sing a song that Bella and I once wrote together. It's called '_**Your Love' (**__**A/N: if looking up the song, search one with duet with Sam Milby**__**)**_.

_I can never find the words to describe what you do to me  
>if I did it would sound like a hundred symphonies<br>the sun would descend from the sky  
>just to see who stole all his light and glory<br>you and me can't you see  
>we could change all of history<em>

"Dance with me?" Sam asked coming out of nowhere.

Surprised, I twirled around and smiled to my husband. "Of course." Setting my hand in his, he held it graciously as he led me away.  
><em><br>When the crowd parts and I find you face  
>its only you I'm seeing<em>

_your love, your love your love, is all that I need_  
><em>your love your love your love so honey stay right here with me<em>  
><em>your touch, your smile, your kiss, your heart is lighting me up<em>  
><em>your love your love, is all that I need, oh<em>

"Everyone's staring," I murmured to him as I glanced around.

"That's because this is technically our first official dance as husband and wife," Sam murmured back in my ear.

Blushing, I took a peek at him and smiled. Leaning in for a kiss, he met me halfway and I melted in his arms. His lips parted with mine in such a gentle way. Everyone was cheering and hollering as we kissed.

I let out a hum of satisfaction while putting my head back on his chest where it belonged.

_I remember walking with you on that April night_  
><em>I was cold and you knew it so you asked me if I'm alright<em>  
><em>then you reached for my hand<em>  
><em>held it tightly in yours<em>  
><em>and neither of us could say a thing<em>  
><em>but the look on your face<em>  
><em>to me, it meant it everything<em>

"It was nice…what you did for Leah," Sam commented as we slowly danced.

"What?" I wondered taking my head off his body to look at him.

"Cole's parents," he said. "It was thoughtful, to talk to them and try to get them to understand."

"They're family," I shrugged, "it was the least I could do, especially after dragging Leah through the thought of inviting them."

"I love you Bella," he said with his forehead now against mine.

"As I love you Sam," I chuckled, moving to kiss his lips again

_Now, I can't help repeating what happened that day over and over_

_your love, your love your love, is all that I need_  
><em>your love your love your love so honey stay right here with me<em>  
><em>your touch, your smile, your kiss, your heart is lighting me up<em>  
><em>your love your love, is all that I need, oh<em>

_If something is good it can last forever_  
><em>so hold me tightly like time don't matter when we're together<em>

Sam brushed some hair away from my face, murmuring another soft 'I love you' in my ear. We nuzzled against each other, I, submitting to the wolf and human man in front of me.

Humming into another soft passionate kiss Sam brought me into, I enjoyed how calm and at peace we both were. This wedding day, not even close to being over, had been amazing and there was nothing I would ever want change in our history. I was with the perfect man, living the perfect life. What more could a girl ask for?

_your love, your love your love, is all that I need_  
><em>your love your love your love so honey stay right here with me<em>  
><em>your touch, your smile, your kiss, your heart is lighting me up<em>  
><em>your love your love, is all that I need<em>

As she finished, we pulled apart to clap and she said a quick thank you, exiting the stage. I gave Sam a quick kiss as I broke away to say hello to my friend who was speedily walking towards me.

"Look at you!" Marie said as we met with my open arms for each other.

"Thank you so much for being here," I gushed as we pulled away.

"Sam, this is Marie; Marie, this is my husband Sam," I beamed as I introduced him. The two grinned at each other, shaking one's hand as they met again.

"You look beautiful Bella," Marie said again.

"Thank you," I blushed. As she and I talked for a while, Sam got to enjoy the company of my close friend Mandy.

"Well please, enjoy the party. There is a ton of food and pictures, go have fun," I smiled to her.

"Thank you," Marie said again as she ventured off to talk to others.

* * *

><p>So after that, the radio went back on and mixed into the loud chatter. Letty and Sue had pushed Sam and I together for pictures of their own, and then to go cut the cake.<p>

"Samuel Uley, I swear to god, if you stuff this in my face you are a dead man," I growled lowly to him as we walked over to the table. I had overheard Quil and Embry talking/joking about it and did not want to become a victim to that embarrassment.

"I won't Bella," he laughed in mock surrender with his hands up.

We walked towards the cake, with everyone now growing silent and gathering around us. Everything was so beautiful; Alice and the rest of the Cullens really did a fabulous job. As the light soft fabric of the lilac tent sat above us (yes a mini tent. Alice had put some tables and the cake in here. Apparently it was for the people to have an opportunity to sit more in the shaded region and for the dessert not to melt) the cake sat perfectly high and wide on the circular bar table, covered with a white tablecloth. I noticed all of the little candles and flower pedals around it too. It was so pretty.

Sam took our cake knife and I set my hand on top of his. As he stood behind me, we cut into the base of our cake, taking out a piece for the both of us. Setting it on the plate, we split it so we could feed it to each other. Mine was pretty small which I was grateful for as he stuck it in my mouth. Then came Sam's who's was pretty much the rest of that piece of cake. With a laugh, I took it in my hands and fed him the food. He let out a hum and tried to take my finger hostage in his mouth. With a giggle I pulled it away and kissed him his lips- so I was being all lovey dovey- shoot me, it was my wedding day! Everyone 'aww'ed and 'ooo'ed again as we laughed at each other.

"Love you," Sam said as Leah brought us some napkins to wipe our hands.

"Love you too," I smiled, still laughing a bit.

* * *

><p>So after cake and more food, we all just stood around talking. I was chatting with Seth and Scott about our studio while Sam was off near the beach with a beer in hand talking with Emmett, Leah, and Sam's dad.<p>

"Excuse me, but do you know where Mr. Uley is?" a girl wondered to the three of us. Taking a glance at her, I wondered who she was.

"I'm Lin, Mr. Uley's plus one. Well not his plus plus one," she blushed, "I'm the daughter of his close friend- my mother- who couldn't make it."

"Nice to meet you," I smiled shaking her hand. Lin was a petite Makah girl. She was about 5'1 at most and had a soft voice. Her eyes were a deep dark brown with her hair long. She was wearing a light yellow v-neck dress and a pair of short grey converse. Now that was my type of girl.

As she continued to look around and somehow meet Seth's eyes, I beamed like the sun. They had made contact and let the time stop around them. Their stares battled against each other and I knew what had happened. Seth had imprinted!

"Lin, this is my brother Seth, and my friend Scott," I said with a grin as I introduced her to her mate.

"Nice to meet you," she said with a faint looking blush.

"You too," Seth said still in awe.

"Mr. Uley is over there if you need him," Scott supplied as Seth continued to stare and I continued grin at her.

"Thanks," she said, giving Seth one last glance before walking off.

"Seth!" I squealed jumping on him. He broke out his reverie and grinned.

"What just happened?" Scott wondered confused.

"He- I um…oh," I said not knowing what to say.

"She was pretty," Seth breathed in a daze. Scott furrowed his eyebrows a tad and chuckled.

"Lin is a cool name," I commented.

"Go talk to her," Scott said to Seth like it was obvious.

"I-uhh," Seth said with a flush of embarrassment. I let out a laugh and kissed his cheek.

"Well go, who knows when she is leaving. Go get to know her," I encouraged. He nodded, psyching himself up with deep breaths. Scott laughed, clapping the boy on his back as he left us.

"Bella!" Alice said jumping over to me.

"What?" I asked with the biggest smile of my life.

She leaned in my ear, whispering a secret to me as I gazed up to find Sam watching me.

Turning my head, I responded in her ear with some muffled words. Nodding with a grin of her own, she quickly went to rush off. "Oh Alice, and go get Embry too."

After the pixie left, I went back to talk with Scott, but stopped and saw Seth and Lin had walked a ways down the beach to talk. Leah was staring directly at me with a look on her face. 'For real?' she mouthed. I nodded vigorously, 'it happened' I mouthed back. She glanced at her brother and then let a smile creep upon her face. Leaning against her boy Cole, who had appeared while I wasn't looking I guess, I turned to look at Sam. He was talking with his dad but occasionally glancing at Seth with the girl Lin.

Feeling my stare, he turned to look up at me. 'He did it' I mouthed. Sam's eyebrows rose and he nodded over to Seth and Lin. Giving him a yes, I also put my thumbs up with a bright smile. He let out a chuckle, which caused Joshua Uley to glance up at me and wave. Waving back, I was lightly pushed and taken out of my far away conversation.

"What's going on?" Embry asked as Alice had him by the arm.

"Drop the beer, you and Scott are coming with me," I smirked.

Scott raised an eyebrow of his own and I smiled, taking him by the arm like Alice did with Embry. Leading them to a table a ways away from my own party, I explained what was going on.


	33. Chapter 33

**_A/N: Reviews? Please? =(_**

"Hello? Everybody?" Alice asked into the microphone on stage. Tapping it a bit, she looked down to see if it was working.

"Hi!" Alice beamed; looking up to see everyone now had her attention. "I'm Bella's friend Alice."

The Cullens chuckled a bit which she rolled her eyes to. "So I have a special surprise or gift I guess for Bella's new husband Sam and the crowd," she said practically jumping up and down as she talked.

"Bella," Alice said waiting for me to come on stage. Trying to hide my blush by covering my face with my long brown curly hair, I walked onstage in my white dress and a red guitar in hand.

"Hey everyone," I said with a breath. I had Sam's full attention. I could feel it and see it.

"So Alice talked me into doing a few songs up here, but I had to get a little help. Scott," I smiled to him beside me with another microphone.

"Hi everyone," he said with a blush. Scott too had a guitar in his hand; ready to play the new song I had just introduced him to a few minutes ago.

"Okay," I laughed. "Well, this first is for all those new romances growing, starting to bud, or gaining momentum," I said with a wink to the Pack.

All the guys were grinning and it soon was dead silent. Taking another breath I let out the nervous feeling in my stomach- stage fright jitters. Glancing at Scott, he seemed to be doing the same. Nodding to Embry, I gave him and Scott the signal to start.

_**("Kiss Me Again" by We Are the In Crowd feat. Alex Gaskarth)**_

_I gotta say something that I've been thinking about  
>I can't wait to lay around with you<br>And tell you all the secrets  
>I've been keeping to myself <em>

_It's been a while since I've felt butterflies  
>Do you feel the same too?<br>If every single second could last that much longer,  
>Would you hold me... and kiss me again?<em>

_Underneath the moonlight_  
><em>You're more than a friend<em>  
><em>Oh... I knew it from the first time<em>  
><em>Yeah... Hold me, feel my heart beat,<em>  
><em>Put your arms around me and kiss me again<em>

Grinning, I took a quick look to Scott, my guitar and the crowd.

_Kiss me again... _

Scott seemed to be at peace and enjoying himself, which was good. He and I were both worried of the stage freight thing. As for the crowd, it was a rush to play in front of so many people- almost like when I did at the La Push fundraiser, but this time it meant something more.

_I_ _gotta say I wasn't expecting you to come this way_  
><em>And fall into my arms<em>  
><em>And now I know I can't deny these feelings any longer<em>  
><em>I close my eyes, I can't stop thinking about you<em>  
><em>Crack a smile, I just can't lose<em>  
><em>Add another minute<em>  
><em>My heart beats to the limit when I'm with you<em>

_So, kiss me again_  
><em>Underneath the moonlight<em>  
><em>Oh... You're more than a friend<em>  
><em>Yeah... I knew it from the first time<em>  
><em>Hold me, feel my heart beat,<em>  
><em>Put your arms around me and kiss me again<em>

_I can't let you go, can't let you float away_  
><em>'Cuz that would be a mistake<em>  
><em>I'm not ready to run<em>  
><em>Can't let you go to waste<em>  
><em>No, no, no...<em>

Looking up again, this time for the people I knew, I found Seth and Lin. They were holding hands and smiling. Shaking my head with some laughter in my head, I bowed my head for a second before continuing to sing.

_And kiss me again  
>Underneath the moonlight<br>Oh... you're more than a friend  
>I knew it from the first time<br>Yeah... Hold me, feel my heart beat,  
>Put your arms around me and kiss me again<br>Hold me, feel my heart beat,  
>Put your arms around me and kiss me again,<br>And again, and again..._

_Oh kiss me again..._

As I finished I turned back to Embry and Scott. They were grinning like fools. As the crowd cheered I gave Embry a high five, took off my guitar and hugged Scott.

"That was awesome," he breathed. Letting out a laugh, I kept Embry there and let Rose and Alice come up, along with Collin and Seth who had just been informed while I was singing.

"So, as I said, I got warped into singing a few songs, as my last one, hopefully if Alice lets me go," I chuckled to the crowd while looking back at her, she was rolling her eyes, "this one is for Sam, my husband," I grinned. Finding his eyes with mine, we beamed at each other- letting our hearts do that weird flip-flop thing and melt at the same time. Collin started me off since he knew this tune and we all began.

_**("Here's To Us" by the Glee Cast)**_  
><em>We could just go home right now<br>Or maybe we could stick around  
>For just one more drink, oh yeah<br>Get another bottle out  
>Lets shoot the breeze<br>Sit back down  
>For just one more drink, oh yeah<em>

_Here's to us_  
><em>Here's to love<em>  
><em>All the times<em>  
><em>That we messed up<em>  
><em>Here's to you<em>  
><em>Fill the glass<em>  
><em>Cause the last few days<em>  
><em>Have gone too fast<em>  
><em>So let give em hell<em>  
><em>Wish everybody well<em>  
><em>Here's to us<em>  
><em>Here's to us<em>

The crowd had started clapping which was actually pretty cool. I hung onto the microphone and continued to sing (at least I knew I didn't have that bad of a voice haha).

_and sang my heart out  
>Stuck it out this far together<br>Put our dreams through the shredder  
>Let's toast cause things got better<br>And everything could change like that  
>And all these years go by so fast<br>But nothing lasts forever_

_Here's to us_  
><em>Here's to love<em>  
><em>All the times<em>  
><em>That we messed up<em>  
><em>Here's to you<em>  
><em>Fill the glass<em>

_Cause the last few nights_  
><em>Have gone to fast<em>

_If they give you hell_  
><em>Tell em to forget themselves<em>  
><em>Here's to us<em>  
><em>Here's to us<em>

_Here's to all that we kissed_  
><em>And to all that we missed<em>  
><em>To the biggest mistakes<em>  
><em>That we just wouldn't trade<em>

I grinned again, knowing all of those times Sam and I had kissed but also all of those times Sam had missed. The song fit him perfectly.

_To us breaking up  
>Without us breaking down<br>To whatever's come our way_

_Here's to us_  
><em>Here's to us!<em>

_Here's to us_  
><em>Here's to love<em>  
><em>All the times<em>  
><em>That we messed up<em>

_Here's to you_  
><em>Fill the glass<em>

_Cause the last few days_  
><em>Have gone too fast<em>

_So let's give em hell_  
><em>Wish everybody well<em>

_Well!_

_Here's to us_  
><em>Here's to love<em>

_All the times_  
><em>That we messed up<em>  
><em>Here's to you<em>  
><em>Fill the glass<em>  
><em>Cause the last few nights<em>  
><em>Have gone too fast<em>  
><em>If they give you hell<em>  
><em>Tell em forget themselves<em>

_Here's to us_  
><em>Here's to us<em>  
><em>Oh here's to us<em>  
><em>Here's to us<em>  
><em>Here's to us<em>  
><em>Here's to love<em>  
><em>( Here's to us)<em>

_Wish everybody well_  
><em>Here's to us<em>  
><em>Here's to love<em>  
><em>Here's to us<em>

_Here's to us_

Finishing up, I left the mic and let out a huge breath. Woah that was breathtaking. Everyone was clapping and my heart was pounding. Going over to Alice and Rosalie, I put their hands up and made them take a bow. Next I went over to Collin and Seth, giving each of them a hug and making the audience give them a round of applause.

As I went off stage, Alice caught me by the arm.

"One more Bella, just one," she pleaded.

"Alice," I groaned.

"Please Bella? Just one, a slow song- it will be a good way to end the night and get people dancing. Please?"

"Fine," I sighed. Telling Collin to come back here, I grabbed us some stools, had Collin switch his guitar and told him what I was playing. A good thing with the boys always being around my music studio and working with me was that they knew every new song I made and played. It was perfect.

Sitting down on the stool with Collin, I waited for Alice and everyone else to leave the stage and then pulled up the microphone to start singing. Taking a deep breath, I had him begin.

_**("Ave Maria" by Beyonce)**_

_**A/N: Ave Maria means' Hail Mary', and my interpretation of the song was a girl was being saved by love from someone (or having someone in her life she loved-obviously) so hopefully that makes sense and you all can see why I picked it.**_

_She was lost in so many different ways  
>Out in the darkness with no guide<br>I know the cost of a losing hand  
>Never thought the grace of God go high<em>

The song became emotional for me as I started thinking about my mother. _**(A/N: look at the part being lost out of darkness- that would be when Bella first came to La Push after mom's death)**__._ I had written this song so long ago, but it was the first song that popped into my head. Glancing around, I spotted Phil who was watching me from afar.

_I found heaven on earth  
>You were my last, my first<br>And then here this voice inside  
>Ave Maria<em>

Taking a look to Sam now, I gave a gentle smile and held the mic to my mouth. He was my savior. He held me up whether he was with Emily at the time or with me.

_I've been alone  
>When I'm surrounded by friends<br>How could the silence be so loud  
>But I still go home knowing that I've got you<br>There's us when the lights go down_

Closing my eyes, I let the song take me over. Collin was doing amazing with the guitar and everyone was clapping their hands and snapping their fingers along. It seemed to calm me as I sang my soul to the crowd.

_You are my heaven on earth  
>You are my hunger, my thirst<br>I always hear this voice inside  
>Singing Ave Maria<br>Letting my eyes flutter back open, I made sure to sweep over everyone I could. There was not a single person I didn't know now, and I was touched everyone made it here.  
>Sometimes love can come and pass you by<br>While your busy making plans  
>Suddenly hit you and then you realize<br>It's out of your hands, baby you got to understand_

Seeing my Aunt Betty in the crowd with my 'uncle' Joe, I felt my soul heal as the wounds were reopened about my mother. I let the warmth take over, singing my last few verses of my song now thinking back to Sam and my life here.

_You are my heaven on earth  
>You are my last, my first<br>And then I hear this voice inside  
>Ave Maria<br>Ave Maria  
>Ave Maria<em>

When I was done singing, I slowly opened my eyes and found everyone slow dancing with partners- even Alice and Jasper were (along with the rest of the Cullen family). Sam of course was still standing there watching me, and with all the love in his eyes, I felt blow away. Getting back to the world in front of me, I smiled to the mob of people and found it was a cute sight to see. As Collin stopped, everyone separated to clap their hands.

Thanking Collin again, I moved the microphone away and finally walked off stage.

Sam met me half way, letting me wrap my arms around him.

"Beautiful baby," he muttered as he kissed my head.

"All for you," I breathed, closing my eyes as I took in his scent.

"Are you sniffing me?" he chuckled as he held onto me.

"Maybe," I said exhaling.

"I can't believe Seth did it," I said now thinking back to everything.

"Huh?" Sam asked confused.

"Seth," I smiled pulling back to look at his gorgeous face, "he imprinted."

"I know," Sam said brushing his thumb over my cheek.

"On our wedding day," I said thoughtfully.

"Makes it perfect doesn't it?" Sam asked almost reading my mind.

"That it does," I chuckled, leaning up on my tiptoes to kiss him.

A throat cleared which made Sam pull away and I was surprised to meet Cole and Leah standing in front of me.

"Thank you," Cole said before Leah could come and attack me. The girl wrapped me in her arms in a giant hug and I patted her back hoping she would lay off the death grip.

"Okay," I forced out as she held me with her werewolf strength. Sam gave her a look to pull back now so he didn't have to verbally say it which she did. Taking in a breath, I gave the couple a confused look.

"We know you talked to them Bella," Leah said.

Cole's parents, right.

"So they are cool now?" I wondered as Sam stood beside me and took my hand.

"Yea, they are a lot better," Cole said with an appreciative look. "I don't know what you said Bella, but really thank you. They want to be apart of my life and with Leah. They accept her fully and want all of us to move back around here," he said.

Raising an eyebrow I looked back to Leah and found her grinning.

"Yea, we were thinking of getting an apartment or something around here," Cole said glancing at Leah to me.

"That's great you guys," I smiled.

"But it's all because of you. Thank you-again," Cole chuckled out.

"You're family," I said with a shrug. Cole rolled his eyes at the phrase but Leah just grinned and gave me another hug.

"Family or not, I owe you," she breathed in my ear.

"Just be happy with him," I whispered.

"I will," she said pulling back.

"And for your brother," I smiled.

"That too. I cant believe it," she said with wide eyes.

"You're telling me. One look and it was like…" I shut up as Cole was still standing there a little confused.

"Seth met someone," Leah said leaving behind a few details. Cole nodded and looked impressed.

"Isn't everyone here like family?" he wondered after a few seconds. We all let out a laugh and somewhat nodded.

"My dad brought his close friend's daughter. They are from a different tribe," Sam explained.

"Oh," Cole said. "Well sweet, now you don't have to worry about your baby bro Lee," Cole said draping an arm over her shoulders.

"I guess not," she said with a faint blush and a huge smile.

"Bella," a voice called. Turning around, I found Aunt Betty and Joe.

"Aunt Betty," I smiled, pulling my arm from Sam's to hug her.

"You look beautiful. And those songs, Bella," she said dearly.

"Hey Joe," I smiled hugging him too. Sam said his hellos too as Leah and Cole excused themselves.

"Your mother would be so happy Bella," Aunt Betty said with a sad smile.

"Thanks," I said with a breath.

"I'm so sorry we could be here sooner either Bella. We both were caught up in things and.."

"It's okay," I said cutting off my aunt as nice as possible.

"There are so many people I consider family here it was fine."

"Dealing with everything too?" my aunt asked concerned.

"Yes," I smiled, leaning into Sam. "Everything was okay."

"Good," she breathed in relief.

"Betty," Charlie said now walking up to our group.

"Dad, this is Joe, Aunt Betty's plus one," I said giving him the proper introduction. The two men shook hands.

"You were great up there Bells," my dad said.

"Thanks dad."

Us adults all talked for a while. It was great to catch up with my aunt and morph everyone together. The connections I thought these people would never have with each other happened. It was kinda cool.

"Bella? Bella!" A voice called that sounded like my mother. Snapping my head around to see where the hell the sound was coming from, I saw a big white screen behind the tent being played. Swallowing hard, I looped my hand with Sam and went to investigate. Alice was biting her lip as she helped finish setting up the white fabric. The video was still playing and she glanced up at me moving away.

"There you are Bella," My mother's voice said relieved. I was in a tutu hiding in the closet.

"Come on, time to come out," she said with the little me.

The scenes switched.

"Smile Bella," my mom said holding the camera, as I was older. I was maybe 13? We were in the kitchen making breakfast- or well I was.

"Mom, it's too early," I groaned.

"Oh come on frumpy," she said.

"Morning camera," I said in an edgy tone.

"I'm rolling my eyes right now if the audience doesn't see," my mother said, now setting the camera down as I stood at the griddle flipping some pancakes.

Unknowingly to the me at that time, my mother was getting a cup of flour in her hands and aiming it at me.

"Bella," my mom called. Turning to her, I was met with a face full of flour.

She laughed and laughed while I just stood there in shock.

I turned my head away from the screen remembering that morning. The flour was everywhere. In my mouth, hair and stuck to my face. Luckily it didn't get it my eyes but I retaliated.

Swallowing the lump in my throat I looked back to the screen and saw us having a mini food fight with a bunch of baking ingredients. We were both covered in stuff and the pancakes were burning now setting off the fire alarm.

"Bella," Sam breathed feeling my pain. Shutting my eyes for a second, I leaned back against him and held the arm he wrapped around me tightly. He was my lifeboat right now- I needed his comfort bad.

The next few scenes were me of when I was older. I was now maybe 16? My mom and I were at the beach. I was laying on my stomach reading when the camera was turning on.

"Let's do something fun," my mom's voice said as the camera shuffled a bit.

"I'm doing homework," I groveled as my pencil moved across the paper.

"Bella, you are no fun!" my mother said.

"Mom, you dragged me out here for the whole day. What are we supposed to do?"

"We swim," she said cheerfully.

"Already did that," I said. "We came out because we looked like prunes remember?" I said with a slight smile.

"We man hunt," she said in a brilliant voice.

I let out a laugh, shutting my books. "You have Phil and we've done that too. Remember Frank?" I asked.

"Oh and Aaron," she said in a dreamy voice. "He was cute for you Bella," she said with her elbow coming into the camera's view as she nudged me.

"Eww mom, no," I said turning on my back.

"Bella, come on, lets do something," she said exasperated.

Pulling my body up on my arms, I seemed to be glancing at the water. A grin spread across my face.

"Lets go surfing," I declared.

"Yes!" My mother cheered, "That is what I'm thinking!"

The camera must have been turned off for a second because the next clip of us was with our wet suits on and we were both in the water. Neither of us could actually surf, which made the scenes funny, but it was a good memory.

"Look at them go," a voice said.

"For all of you viewers who don't know, I'm Kevin. I was paid $20 to hold the camera till they were done…which by the looks of things will be pretty soon," he laughed, showing the viewers how we epically failed at surfing.

Renee and I came out of the water, dropping our board, laughing and falling into the wet sand as we gave up- just like that guy Kevin said.

Lastly there were scenes of Renee opening her locket form Phil and I. She marveled at the jewelry and then teared up, insisting we put it on her. My eyes watered up and I shut them, praying for the tears to go away.

Aunt Betty put a hand on my shoulder and I glanced to her. She gave me a small smile and patted me gently. Letting out a breath, I watched the final scenes.

"Here is my baby going off to college," Renee sniffed. Passing the camera to Phil, she ran over and attacked me with a hug. I let out a jolly laugh and hugged her back, saying I would be fine and visit as much as I could.

Phil zoomed in as Renee pulled back to look at me. She cupped my face and smooched my cheeks together.

"I love you Bella," she spoke in an actual motherly tone.

And the screen faded, ending the movie whoever decided to upset me and play it. Shuttering, I composed myself as the crowd set eyes on me. It was Phil. He had stopped it and stepped out.

Hesitantly, someone began to clap and everyone else followed.

Sam just kissed my head comforting me as I sucked in the tears. Charlie glanced at me and patted my shoulder too. "I'll go talk to him," my father said walking off to the other man.

"You alright sweetie?" Aunt Betty asked.

"Fine," I said turning back in Sam's arms and holding him close.

"Alright, we'll give you some time," Joe said pulling my aunt away.

"I'm going to kill him," Sam growled referring to Phil.

"No, its okay," I croaked, hiding my tears in Sam's chest. "I just-…emotional," I said letting out a breath.

"I love you," he said holding my face in his large warm palm.

"I love you too," I whispered before he kissed me.

* * *

><p>"Pixie," Paul muttered, growling lowly at her as the Pack and the Cullen's came together. Sam and I saw it starting to form and as Alpha he needed to control his Pack. He didn't want to leave me though and honestly, I didn't want to leave him, so we walked up to our families together.<p>

"Guys, what's going on?" I asked as Jasper stood in front of Alice with a hard look on his face.

"That was wrong of her to do Bella," Embry said.

"It was low," Jake added.

"Its fine," I sighed.

"No its not," Leah barked, glaring at the Cullen's again.

"Cool it guys," Sam ordered.

"I was just helping," Alice said in a small voice. "He already had it prepared- he just needed me to help him find a place to set up the screen. Bella if I would have known earlier…" she trailed off.

"Its okay," I said.

"Screw that shit Bella," Quil said.

I rolled my eyes and Sam gave them all a look to cool down or else.

"Guys, Renee was a big part of my life, I think Phil I just trying to show me in his own way my mother will always be a part of me and that she loved me. He doesn't mean anything by it. And like Alice said, she didn't know and was roped into it," I explained calmly to the Pack.

"You should be angry," Seth commented.

"I'm not," I said. "I'm upset, but I'm not mad at the Cullens, or Alice, or even Phil. Now please, let it go and lets enjoy the rest of this wedding yes?" I asked.

"Bella, it isn't really right…" Collin said speaking up.

"No, it isn't. It was an interesting thing to do- to show that to everyone- but Phil meant no harm and either does Alice."

"I guess," he sighed.

"Don't worry, Chief Swan is taking care of him," Jared said glancing at the two men. They didn't seem to be happy with each other. Sighing, I leaned back into Sam again. So much for no drama today.

"I think you need to step away from this one Bella," Jake said as I thought to go stop them.

I cocked my head to the side.

"It's a guy thing to work it out. Soon they will be throwing punches," Jared commented.

I groaned and Esme put a hand on my shoulder.

"Emmett, please go talk to them and separate it?" Rosalie asked her husband. He nodded and gave me a wave.

"No fighting today guys. I don't blame Alice or anything yes?" I asked my Pack.

They all were hesitant.

"We mean that as an order," Sam's voice rang out with that Alpha timber in it. They all bowed their heads feeling their wolf bow to the command.

"Thank you," I chirped, shifting in Sam's arms to kiss his luscious lips.

"All clear Bella Bean!" Emmett said walking back over to us. Phil was now off by the entrance of the beach and Charlie was by the water, way opposite ends of each other.

"How'd you do it?" I wondered.

"Picked 'em up and carried them."

"What?" Both families shouted.

"I'm kidding," he said rolling his eyes. We all let out a sigh of relief. That would sure raise some questions why a man like Emmett could or would pick up Charlie and Phil. Emmett may be strong and muscular looking but still, it wouldn't be good.

"I told them you didn't like it that they were fighting and they needed to separate. I wasn't leaving until they did. And finally after being a blockade to their death glares, they went their separate ways."

"Nice," I said with a nod.

"Bella," A voice called. Turning, I saw it was Phil. Sam tensed along with the rest of the crowd.

"I'll go," Emmett said again.

"No, I got it," I said stopping him. Hesitantly moving out of Sam's arms, I gave them all a smile and me Phil at the entrance of the beach.

"I see I caused some problems," he said.

"No its just…it's been hard emotionally dealing with Renee- her being gone and all," I said.

"I see," he said sadly.

"Phil, its okay," I said touching his arm.

"It was sweet, they were nice memories; some of which I forgot."

"This is for you," he said pulling an envelope out of his jacket pocket. The writing on the front was Renee's handwriting and it said my name?

"I found it when I went through her things to find the home movies and stuff," he said. Watching him swallow hard, he pushed the letter in my hands. "I don't know what it says or when she wrote it. I just found it. But it was meant for you."

Holding the note, I let my hands shake and my body quiver.

"Open it when you're ready," he said. With a kiss to the top of my head, he breathed a 'see you around Bella-roo' and left my wedding.

A part of me wished he left on a better note, but the other part of me thought this is how Phil and I were. If I was to start expecting him to be a constant in my life, I knew I would be setting myself up to fail. He would always be there for the big things in my life, but it was hard for him emotionally and physically to cope with me around. I was a reminder of Renee and all the times we had with her together. It was understandable but a chunk of me was still hurting he couldn't stick around longer.

Letting out a breath, I ran a hand through my hair and turned back to the party. Instead of going over to Sam, I detoured to my dad. Phil understood that too, I still had Charlie and was more of my father figure now. With the time I spent with Charlie here in La Push, was the time we became close.

"Hey daddy," I said standing next to him as he looked out to the water.

"I know you're upset with my actions," he said.

"But," he said before I could cut in, "Bella, you are my daughter. And I wont stand for that- him dangling your mother's death in front of you. It upsets you and he sees that, but he doesn't stop it. I don't regret yelling at him, but I will apologize for starting a scene at your wedding."

"Daddy," I breathed coming to hug him, "I'm not mad at you or want an apology. Thank you for sticking up for me. And even though Sam and I had Emmett come over to you two doesn't mean you did something wrong. You were right and don't have to explain yourself. I just really didn't want anymore attention or drama today."

"Okay baby girl," he said hugging me tightly.

"Thank you again dad," I breathed.

He nodded and rested his chin on the top of my head.


	34. Chapter 34

When Charlie and I made our way back over to the Pack, Sam was already waiting for me, pulling me onto his lap as we all sat a ways away on the beach. We took a quick break from everyone else and just stuck with our 'Pack' family.

"What's that?" Sam wondered to my hands.

"A letter from Renee," I said.

"What?" Everyone asked sucking in a breath.

"I don't know, I haven't opened it. Phil said he found it when he was looking for the home movies and stuff."

"It doesn't look to old," Billy commented.

"No, it doesn't," I breathed ridding away that pit in my stomach.

Sam kissed my cheek and then my mark, which caused tingles to run through me. Smiling a bit, I looked up to my husband and found him grinning down at me.

"So Seth, congratulations," I said shifting the attention off me as it went silent. He grinned with a small blush. Imprints weren't really hanging around except for Kim and me. Sarah and Andrea were off with Alice or something.

"Thanks," he smiled.

"So tell us about her dude," Quil said nudging him.

"She's my age," Seth started out, "and uhh, from the Makah res," he said.

"Tell us something we don't know yet Seth," Paul said rolling his eyes.

"Her mom is also an elder on her res. That's how Sam's dad knows Lin."

"She's half Asian?" Jake asked.

"Yea, her dad is Asian and her mom is Quileute."

"How'd that work?" Embry wondered.

"Same as Leah. Her mom was a wolf and her line of people is from 'high' descent. She fell in love with Lin's father Ken and they had Lin."

"So Lin is half Quileute?" Leah said.

"Yea, cool huh?" he asked.

"Does that mean she isn't going to go wolf?" Jared wondered.

"I don't think so. She knows about them and stuff but isn't actually one of them, yet at least. I guess there are a few different things on Makah land that we don't do here."

"What do you mean?" I wondered.

"Well everyone on their land knows the legends are true, so they aren't calling their people a 'cult'. They actually call them by their title- protectors. They don't spread the word either, it's obviously meant to be kept hush hush, and their people know that."

Some of us glanced at Billy with a raised eyebrow. That should be applied to Leah and Cole.

"So she knew you imprinted on her?" Kim asked.

"She had a feeling but wasn't sure. I told her and she said it was worth a shot to try."

"Cute," Collin commented.

"Yea," Seth smiled while thinking of her. "She's really nice."

"Does she know how to cook?" Quil asked thoughtfully.

"She know s how but claims she isn't too good at it. She calls herself more of a bookworm."

"Well that won't work," Quil said.

"Shut it mutt," Leah said slapping him on the back of the head. We laughed.

"I guess she likes to clean and sew a lot though. I laughed when she said she likes to go to bed with a clean bedroom. And sewing or cross stitching things help her to relax," Seth said thoughtfully. We smiled and laughed again as Quil was still rubbing the back of his head.

"Well that's good then. She can definitely help us with all your boys' clothes," Kim commented with a smile.

"She sounds very nice Seth," Sam commented.

"Thank," he blushed again. I let out a small laugh and nuzzled into Sam's neck.

"Bella, Sam, speech time," Sue said coming over to us. Getting up, I jokingly helped Sam up with me and kissed his lips.

"Mmm, I love that," I smiled.

"I love you," he spoke.

"Not as much as I do you."

"Oh-"

"Enough love birds, lets go. I'm up," Leah said rolling her eyes as she went to give her speech.

Chuckling, we walked behind her and grabbed a seat at a table to listen to everyone.

Leah gave her full discourse, this time not hung over. It was beautiful. She talked about her point of view watching us grow and develop as a couple. Then she told us how she believed in love because of us. All the things I didn't know came into view and she made me aware of all of them.

Next came Jared. His speech was funny because he was serious during rehearsal dinner. He made jokes on how he wasn't hung over unlike Leah last time, and he laughed about the insight he knew Sam had given him when they 'worked together'. He told me how he'd complain when he wasn't with me or when our time was cut short. It was cute. And then he told little jokes and lines about me from what Kim had provided him. I was love sick and head over heels. I was going to talk with those to after.

After that, I saw Joshua Uley and Charlie go up on stage. Both had note cards. Sam and I weren't aware they were making speeches so when we turned to each other, we were both highly confused.

"Well, I'm Joshua Uley and beside me here is Charlie Swan," he spoke. "Now I-uhh…just wanted to come up here and say a few words- both the Chief and I did," he said into the microphone. "Well uhh…" Mr. Uley said struggling. Giving a raised eyebrow to Sam, he just shook his head.

"Apparently he's not one to public speak," Sam said in my ear. I let out a laugh and hit his chest as I sat on his lap.

"Both Charlie and I have walked out of our children's life. Some reasons being that we didn't have a choice, while others being, we did it to save ourselves, and for our children. Our kids, who have met each other through the coincidence of living in this small area, have brought us together again, labeling us as a family," Mr. Uley said. "They have grown up to be such strong individuals that make us as fathers want to be better."

Sam's dad stepped away and Charlie now stepped up.

"It's great to see our kids so happy and loved. Parents like us, who haven't always been there enjoy seeing their kids fall in love and get to know their significant other," Charlie said clearing his voice, "and we just want to thank them. These two are such a strong amazing couple and everyone can agree they have brought so much to us."

Mr. Uley was standing beside Charlie nodding.

"So here's to Sam and Bella, may all be well for now and the future."

Everyone raised their glasses again and we all cheered, taking a sip.

* * *

><p>As people started to leave and we said our goodbyes, music came on through the radio and all of us had the opportunity to dance. Sam pulled me in for a few slow songs, Collin too, and even Jake did for one. Leah and Cole dance together mostly, while Cole let Seth take over for one song. Paul had a chance to dance with Lin, while Quil had a chance to dance with Joey.<p>

"Can I cut in?" Embry asked Paul.

"Sure," he said giving me a kiss on the cheek as he left me to my other friend.

"Long time no talk," I said wrapping my arms around Embry's neck.

"Yea, sorry," he said.

"Remember when things were so much different?" I asked. The last time I had really been with Embry was when I sang for the first time without an instrument and spent the day with him while Jake went on patrol. Both of those times I wasn't with Sam and was still avoiding him and he imprint.

"Crazy right?" Embry said thinking my exact thoughts.

"Very," I said breaking out of my daydream.

"Its good though, that we are still close without needing to be," he said trying to make sense of his words.

"It's what friends can do," I spoke with a smile.

"Its what family does," he corrected.

"Thanks for always being around Em," I said looking up to him with a small blush.

"I'll always take care of you," he said. "Things change and time passes but we'll always have each other right?"

"Yea," I smiled.

"Good," he said kissing my nose.

"Watch were you plant your lips Embry," Sam warned with a low growl as he came to cut in.

"Yea yea," Embry said rolling his eyes as he gave my side a squeeze to leave.

"Miss me?" Sam joked.

"Of course," I smiled kissing his lips as he bent down to my level.

"The kids still playing with our puppy?" I wondered.

"Of course," he said. "I think that pup will be tired for a while."

"Are we leaving him here?" I wondered to Sam. We were going to drive to Port Angeles late tonight and jump on the opportunity for our honeymoon.

"We could take him if you want," Sam said.

"Can we?" I smiled sweetly. He let out a chuckle and kissed my forehead- yes.

"We need to give him a name," Sam reminded me.

"I don't know," I said clueless.

"Me either," Sam chuckled.

"Mommy!" Liam said. "Dance! Dance!"

"Better go find another dance partner," Sam chuckled, kissing me briefly as he left Liam with me.

"Hi buddy," I smiled, "I thought you were with the pup."

"I wanted to be with you," he said pushing some hair away from my face. Smiling at the gesture, I kissed his cheek.

"Can I come with you tonight?" Liam wondered.

"Sorry buddy," I chuckled, "this vacation is just for Sam and I."

"What about the doggy?" he wondered.

"And him too."

"But I don't want you to go," he whined.

"I'm just going to Port Angeles Liam, I wont be too far away if you need something."

"Promise?" he asked.

I nodded, "absolutely."

"I love you mommy," Liam sighed in content as he laid his head on my shoulder.

"I love you too buddy, always," I said back gently.

* * *

><p>When the party was finally over, we said our goodbyes to everyone and headed back to our car. Thanks to Alice and Rose, our things had been packed in the truck and all we needed to do was leave. With a quick change of clothes and picking the puppy up in our hands, Sam opened my car door for me and shut it, jogging back to his side to take off.<p>

"Ready to spend some time as husband and wife?" Sam asked with a smile.

"Lets go," I replied, kissing the fur ball in my hands as we waved goodbye to everyone on the beach.

* * *

><p>Our hotel room was amazing. It was nice and big, with a comfy white lounge chair and a huge circular white-sheeted bed. The windows were one huge wall, showing us a great view of Port Angeles. They had silky white and dark blue drapes that coincided with the painted walls and pillows. Everything was so crisp and clean; especially the mini kitchen off to our right when we first stepped in was perfect and sparkly.<p>

Letting down the pup and dropping our bags, I ran for the bed with laughter.

"We should never ever leave here," I spoke in content. Even the light fixtures, lamps and whatever else that were designed in the room were interesting to look at. They were odd shaped and appealing things to marvel at.

"We wont have to for a while," Sam said coming to hover over me.

"Good," I smiled, gazing into his deep brown eyes.

Before the romance could start though, a little guy came jumping up on us, licking my face and wagging his tail in front of Sam. Letting out a giggle, Sam rolled off to the side of me while I sat up.

"I like being here husband," I smiled, still enjoying the word roll of my tongue.

"I like having you with me wife," he said with his own little grin. Kissing my lips, we started a mini make out session, ending with us panting for air and our foreheads together.

* * *

><p><em><strong>(AN: Hey guys, so this story is coming to a close as you are all starting to see. I am sorry to say but I'm going to be skipping the lemons, maybe adding them later or something. So time is going to pass quickly, but I will add an epilogue to sum up everything. Hope you enjoy the last chapters of the story!)**_

* * *

><p>Because it was late by the time we arrived in Port Angeles, we called it a night early, and snuggled up against each other with the puppy curled up in a ball on the big white comfy lounge chair.<p>

It felt so much different to be held in the arms of my husband and I knew it was my imagination. Just because we added titles to our lives didn't mean it would really change us physically or whatever, but it did feel different. Sam was warmer and cozier. If possible, I thought we fit together even more perfectly. It was like; finally, after all of this time, both him and his wolf were in sync with me.

I guess this rambling doesn't make any sense, and I'm not sure how to explain it. It was like, as I laid with him, doodling little pictures on his warm skin, I couldn't help but feel like this was where I belonged. My thoughts were silenced and I was encased in happiness and peace. I didn't need his wolf to be silent and nuzzle against me to keep me warm and comforted, and I didn't need to be encased, listening to the rhythmic breathing of Sam to make sure I wasn't dreaming or in love. It all came naturally now, and I chalk that up to being his wife.

"What is making all those gears turn in your head?" Sam grumbled to me as he kept his eyes closed.

"Huh?" I asked confused.

"I can practically hear you thinking Bella," he spoke, letting his eyes flutter open.

Raising an eyebrow, I gave a silly smile, "actually for once, I'm not thinking at all. I think you might be losing your touch," I joked. Giving my side a tickle, I squirmed against him and laughed as he kissed my nose.

"Never," he spoke getting comfy against me again.

"I'm really happy Sam," I breathed out in a whisper to the silent darkness. "Thanks for making me happy."

"You don't have to thank me Bella," he said taking a whiff of my scent, "you're doing the same for me."

Melting at his sweet words, I snuggled in closer to that chest of his I loved and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Our honeymoon was full of sex. Not to be blunt or anything, but it was. For the first few days we ordered room service, staying in for the mornings and evenings. We went from the shower, to the bath, on the bed and even a few other places too. I loved it all though. Staying in with Sam and not having to worry about anything made life seem so simple. It was peaceful and relaxing too. We were in our own little world of love.<p>

Since we had about a week in Port Angeles, by the middle of our honeymoon, we spent it going out and shopping around. We hit up the bookstore and coffee shop we talked at long ago and even snagged a few new purchases, many for our new animal with us. We talked about the past and the present, bringing it all together as one, and we even touched based on the future again. The tranquility of our lives together, being just the beginning, had me thinking that all of the drama before getting married was well worth it.

Stopping by the music studio on the second to last day we had to leave, I checked up on everything while Sam made sure patrols were going smoothly and still no sighting of any vampires. We meet up around one o'clock near some café and had lunch together, filling in each other on what was going on.

Seth and Scott had the studio down pat. Scott was a real pro I guess at running things, which made Seth wonder if he was ever in business management. With the extra hand, it was like Seth was free. He now he spent most of his free time with his new imprint instead of being around music. It was good for him though, and great for Scott too, he really enjoyed being in charge. Brady and Collin were both out too, doing their own thing. I was glad everything was shaping up for my guys.

Sam had filled me in that there were no sightings of any bloodsucker around, which had me relieved, and that everyone was doing great like us. Leah and Cole were okay, now living in a place closer to La Push. Seth wasn't too happy with helping the both of them move now, but they got it done (getting rid of some of Leah's excess things in the process). Alongside that, everyone was also happy that Seth had found someone. It was like a miracle, to him and everyone else.

Paul and Liam were great. Liam was still quick with his words and smart as could be. I think he was getting antsy to see me and his new best friend (our dog). Paul was still balancing the life as a father and a regular guy. Letty was helping him out by babysitting for Liam more and more so Paul could relieve his own stress from work and the Pack.

Quil was same old same old I guess according to Sam too. He didn't have much to say other than that he was glad we were both happy and enjoying our honeymoon. Embry though, he was asking Sam when it would be appropriate to ask Andrea to marry him. Sam was a little freaked out considering they were still young, but he suggested Embry talk it over with his imprint.

I'm pretty sure Jared is going to pop the question to Kim any day now, and both Sam and I are hoping Jake is going to ask Sarah soon too. Both those girls have been itching to take the next step with their men but the two-frady cat males are too chicken to ask their mates. Sam has been egging them both on though, which I find kind of funny.

And that's about it. With our updates from the res of La Push, everyone else was well and moving along in life. Sam and I had been debating about returning a day earlier, but knowing that everyone was fine without us and Jared not having to really be the Alpha, we brushed the thought away and kept the day to ourselves to come home late at night.

* * *

><p>As I was packing up and picking up things around our hotel room one afternoon, I stumbled upon Renee's letter. Biting my lip, I flipped it in my hands and sat on the bed. Sam was still out getting us some lunch; did I really want to open it without him? Running my hands over my name in her script, I tried not to feel nervous with not knowing what was inside.<p>

Making a small tear in the seal, I slowly opened in and prepared my hammering heart for whatever it could be. Dipping my hand inside, I retrieved a letter. By the feel of it, it was her favorite stationary.

"Bella?" Sam asked coming in the room.

Glancing up, I saw him watching me confused as he shut our door.

"Hi," I rasped out nervously.

"What are you doing?" he wondered.

"The letter, from my mom," I said with a pit in my stomach.

With his full attention now, he set down our bag of food on the table and came to sit next to me.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" he asked with a hand on my thigh.

"I was going to but, I though I could do this," I said shakily.

Staring at me, he watched as I made my next move. I opened the three-folded long letter and ran my hand over the stationary.

"This was her favorite paper. I think I got it for mothers day one year," I said with some tears. With a light squeeze to my thigh, I shut my eyes and questioned why the heck I was doing this.

Glancing to Sam, I moved a hand up to his cheek, and marveled over his gorgeous face. He was my husband now and with him I could do anything. Feeling his lips slowly descend on mine, I let my eyes flutter closed again and felt everything I could in this moment. His lips were soft against mine, the both of us parting for more. We were aggressive with each other, yet gentle at the same tie, knowing exactly what we each wanted. As we pulled away, I licked my lips and looked back into those brown orbs. They were so calm and loving, all for me. Taking a deep breath, I took a moment for myself and then slowly looked down to read whatever she wrote.

_Bella,_

_I know you can't understand my actions for doing what I am going to do, but please know, I would never want to leave you alone. You've grown into a beautiful girl, with so much heart. This letter isn't supposed to be sad or heartbreaking, but I know it will be for you. You know how much I say sorry, and I always mean it, but this time, I can't say sorry for my actions. I don't know what to say Bella, you're my daughter and if you were ever to leave me, I could never survive, but here I am doing this to you. Please forgive me. _

_I've learned and experienced that life gets hard, whether you're young or old. And as I've lived through my life, I found it's been exceptionally hard. I can barely get out of bed sometimes. You've been the light to my life and the reason I had carried on, but as you grow, I can't keep you attached to my hip like I used to. I know you will be fine without me. There is no doubt in my mind of that. You're wonderful inside and out, carrying so much beauty and grace. You're future is so bright and I wish I was strong enough to see it. Don't ever give up on things like I have. It may be one of my biggest regrets, but it will be mine and mine only. I love you so much sweetheart and thank you for all of the memories you have given me. Be the best you can be and give Phil all of my love. Please remember, I'll always be watching over you._

_Love you crazy mother,_

_Renee_

As my lines read the last few lines, I closed the letter and ran a hand over my face. Why did she have to do this? Why write a stupid letter before she went off to hang herself. Sam's arm came around my body and pulled me close to him. I let out a sob and put a hand over my face ashamed. I wasn't supposed to be like this anymore. I didn't want to crumble over the person who left me. She was gone and that part of me was gone. Wasn't it?

With a kiss to my head, I let the pain wash over me and cried till it could be right again.


	35. Chapter 35

"You know, we haven't talked about your mom recently," Sam said running his fingers over my bare shoulder. After I had my meltdown, he found the best way to comfort me was getting naked and having sex. As funny as it was, I guess it did help. It was the best cure to my sadness because it brought us closer. He showed me love and I knew he would be the one person out of everything to never leave me.

"There isn't much to say anymore," I said blankly as we lay together.

"I think there is," he pushed gently. Craning my neck, I gazed into his dark brown orbs. They were honest and true, showing nothing but love and interest.

"You know," I said now turning in his arms, "we haven't talked about your mom at all."

"Bella," he said, thinking I was trying to avoid the topic.

"Honestly Sam, with all of this stuff about me, we never really talked about you. I mean, I met your dad and you told me about what happened to your mom, but I never really got to hear what she was like."

"I want to talk about you first," he told me as he watched me draw little doodles on his bare russet chest.

"I'm okay," I said looking up to him now. Surprisingly, he didn't say anything. Instead he just watched me.

"My mom reminded me of a fierce woman warrior," he told me softly. "She was strong, with long black hair and had the most warm kind eyes I had ever seen."

Snuggling closer to him, I listened as he told me about her. "She was tall like my dad, only maybe a few inches shorter than him. She always dressed in casual clothes, maybe only once of twice did I see her in formal wear," he spoke. "She had this smooth voice that always helped me sleep at night. Her skin was almost the color of mine, maybe even a bit darker."

"How did your parents meet?" I wondered.

"My mom was coming back home, here on La Push land. My father being the young Alpha to step up to his duties imprinted on her," he answered, still rubbing my skin. "He actually kept it a secret, going on the route of falling in love with each other first. Then, he told her and she accepted the fact easily. They were head over heels for each other," he said. "And then they had me."

"She sounds perfect," I said kissing his chest.

"She was pretty close to it," he said kissing my head. "I grew up with all of the tribal stories when she would tell them to me when I went to bed. Every night she would tuck me in and tell me she would always be watching over me. And then one day she was in a car crash. My dad went crazy, almost positively knowing it was a vampire who set it up to make it look like it was an accident. That's when I found out they were true," he spoke.

"You didn't figure it out when you went wolf?" I said looking up surprised.

"Nope," he breathed, pushing some hair out of my face. "But I didn't expect to be the next alpha. My dad had taken the position when their alpha died, and then I became alpha because I was the first to phase. That's why he had to move. It was odd, when I went wolf. We couldn't figure it out because the line carried with Billy Black and his relative family. Somehow things got mixed and two Uley's who were both still alive were alphas."

"You said your dad went crazy when he thought it was vampires that killed your mom," I whispered laying my head back down on him.

"He thought so, but it was just some drunk. He was in prison on another count of drinking and driving a while ago. One of his Pack members brought him down to the station to show the guy wasn't a vampire and that's when my dad realized not everything was supernatural. I mean, plus, it was unreasonable that it was a vampire because they hadn't shown their faces in decades. The only reason my dad turned was because some nomadic vampires had passed by for a few days."

"So their Pack was small?"

He nodded, "There were only three or four guys including my dad. The man who he replaced had died after getting rid of the nomads who passed by. He had chased after them, crossing a few state borders because he was so angered that he and some other people had phased."

"Wow," I breathed. "What happened to all of them? Were they not close with your dad?"

"They were," he said thoughtfully, "but they al had their own lives too. When my mom had me, my dad stopped phasing, passing it down to his buddy and then his buddy ended up not phasing anymore either. That's pretty much what happened with the rest of the guys. None of them phased anymore. Some moved away since the Pack was gone and some hung around here or went to a different tribe like my dad."

"I think I would have loved to have seen little Sam," I smiled. Hearing his soft chuckle, I grinned when his chest rumbled.

"You know Bella," he said in a more serious tone, "my mom's death doesn't upset me so much even though she was mom, because it was a drunk that killed her, and it was only a drunk. She didn't have a supernatural death that made me hate this world. I think if she did, if a vampire had been responsible, I would have been angry like my father, because if she lived anywhere else without knowing what was really out there, it wouldn't have happened to her."

Nodding, I let silence creep over us. My vision of Sam's mom in my head portrayed her as gorgeous, and I knew I was somewhat right. I mean, both her and Joshua had made Sam, and Sam, was matter of factly gorgeous.

"Any more questions?" he wondered, "Because I'm worried about you," he spoke softly. Raising an eyebrow, I held the white sheet to my chest as I sat up on my arm.

"Bells, you were a teen when your mom killed herself. And you found her," he said.

"I know," I said quietly. "But I dealt with it…I did," I said as he gave me a look. "I mean, I came here to run away from it but then things unraveled and came together and my Aunt helped me. So did you- you helped with my nightmares."

His eyes saddened and he reached a hand up to touch my face.

"Honestly, it's getting better. I think I'm more frustrated at myself that I get upset when she is brought up and giving me things like this. But at the same time, it helps me cope even more."

"Why?" he asked suddenly, "why do you beat yourself up for thinking of her?"

I sighed and threw myself on my back towards my side of the bed. "It's hard to explain," I said.

"Try your best," he said now hovering over me.

"Sam," I groaned.

"Come on Bella," he urged. "We aren't pushing away each other or the scary topics anymore right?"

Sighing, I bit my lip and wondered why I even thought of explaining all of this to him.

"Its like I can never escape the memory," I started. "Everything about her now connects back to her suicide, and as much as I want to think of her in different ways, I cant. Phil tried to push the happy Renee at me and as great as it was, it hurt me more because I knew she wasn't like that when I was away and I blame a part of me for that."

He went to speak up, but I silenced him with a finger to his lips. "I'm not wallowing over it or beating myself up for it, I just think that if I didn't go away to college and I stayed closer to her, she would have rethought what she was going to do. In her letter, I can see that it isn't exactly true what I'm thinking, but I still have all of those what if's."

I slid my hand down from his lips and focused my attention elsewhere. "I'm partially ashamed too. She can affect me so much and make me feel such heart wrenching pain when she isn't even here. I spend so much time and effort thinking about all of it and crying my eyes out, when it doesn't even help anyone or do anything. So, like I said, I'm mad at myself for always breaking down. It's stupid to do so."

"Bella," he said making me catch my eyes with his, as he used a sad tone again.

"Sam," I said gently, putting a hand on his cheek, before he could speak, "there isn't anything you can really say to this. I know you want me to know that I didn't play a part in what she did, I understand when you say that, but it doesn't change that sliver of me."

Roaming his eyes over my face, I watched as leaned down and kissed me softly.

"You're going to be okay," he said confidently.

"I know," I breathed, making a small smile appear on my face as he kissed me again.

* * *

><p>"Hey Sam," I called coming out of the bathroom the next day.<p>

"Yea?" he asked going around the room packing the rest of our miscellaneous things, as we got ready to leave. Our honeymoon was sadly over but it was probably the best week of my life.

"I was thinking, maybe after finishing this pack I stop taking them," I said with my birth control pills in my hand. My pack of pills I was on was coming to an end. My period was to start soon and after that I needed to use my last pack of my prescription before renewing it again. Glancing up, I saw Sam freeze as he noted what I was holding.

"Are you serious?" he questioned in surprise as he held some clothes of ours in his hands.

"I don't know," I shrugged now biting my lip, "I mean, I know you want to start, and I guess I do too. But it could take a while and I-"

Getting surprised with his big warm body quickly standing in front of me, I let out a small chuckle. The pile of clothes was now back on the floor and I saw our poor little pup walking out from underneath them looking somewhat pissed. Sam had dropped them beside him not even thinking and then rushing over me to give me his full attention. Nervously glancing up to him, I smiled when he cupped my face in his hands.

"You want to try having kids?" he asked me still in disbelief.

"I was thinking it over a few days ago and yea I guess I do. After I finish my last set of birth control maybe we can start trying for real."

The hesitant smile that was on his face spread and grew into a thousand watts. I couldn't believe how happy he was right now and it was all because the thought of having kids.

"It might not really start working for a while Sam. I've been on them for so long, but I mean, we can try," I warned, trying to show him the first time wouldn't exactly be the charm.

"Practice," he said encouragingly, "we practice until it works."

"Until I get pregnant," I laughed, "it's till I get pregnant," I said correcting his words with a small smile of my own.

"Yea," he grinned, tugging me closer and covering my lips with his.

* * *

><p>"What happened to wanting to wait for a little while?" Sam asked me about a half hour into our nighttime drive home. "I thought you wanted some time just you and me for a while? You didn't want to start going off protection and stuff for maybe a few months or a year till you were ready. I thought you wanted that newlywed thing," he implied.<p>

"I did," I said weighing my thoughts, "but, I don't know," I said shrugging and biting my lip, "we've kind of done that for the past few years of dating. I'm actually somewhat tired of it." Sam raised an eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes, "not the whole part of being just you and me, but the part where we wait around and go slow in the relationship. We don't really have to do that anymore- I mean, we're married and I feel like it's the right time or something," I confessed but still not able to place my finger on how to express it correctly.

"Are you sure you want to try then?" he asked me. "You seem like you are still unsure."

"Its not like I'm going to go off the pill today Sam," I said with a small chuckle. "I still have a whole new pack to start in a few days, but even with my doubts, I still think I'm ready. Are you?"

"Beyond ready Bella," he said bringing my hand up to kiss.

"Think we'll make good parents?" I wondered as he gently squeezed our looped hands.

"The best," he said with confidence. "Look at you already with Will and Claire. And now Joey, Bella, you're amazing with kids."

"You aren't too bad yourself," I said prospectively. "I've watched you with both Will and Claire too."

"Which is why we are going to be the greatest parents on the whole entire planet," he said kissing my knuckles as he kept his eyes on the road.

I let out a chuckle, not knowing where he got all of his corniness from.

"What about the wolf gene though Bells?" he asked taking his eyes off the road for a quick second to look at me. "We didn't get to talk about it when I brought it up that time."

Biting my lip, I vividly remember that day. I told him that we would deal with it when the time came. Well, the time was coming.

"To be truthful, that day when you asked, I didn't even connect it. I forgot that the wolf gene would be passed down," I said. Squeezing his hand, I gave an encouraging look, "but I guess it doesn't matter to me as much when I think of it overall. Yes, that stupid 50/50 chance thing is going to bother me, but if it happens, our kid will be in good hands and he or she will have to deal with it just like our Pack has done."

"What about imprinting," he said, " I know you have big problems with that and our son or daughter will have that with them if they go wolf," he reminded me.

"I know," I sighed, "but there's nothing we can really do. We can't move anywhere and its not like we can kill every vampire around so our future kid doesn't turn. As much as I hate imprinting sometimes, it led me to you. Plus, Leah and Cole show me, and us both, that you don't need to imprint to be happy. So I find peace with it all in little ways I guess," I said.

"Hopefully, the word 'kid' will become plural," Sam said in a light tone as he analyzed everything I said in such depth and detail n his head. I smiled, laughed and blushed all at the same time. I did say maybe two or three kids when we last talked about it.

"How many kids do you really want?" I wondered now. "When you picture yourself and your future, how many little kids did you see running around in that house of ours?"

"Just us? Like without the Pack's family?" he asked with a glance to me again.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"Well, when I picture our future, I see us, in our house or maybe a different one with more bedrooms for our kids. But with that, I always see the Pack and their kids with us too, running around and chumming alongside us. I envision it like we are all one big family- just expanded. Not just us as adults, but kids, babies, toddlers, the elders, our parents and who ever else just being with us," he said with a shrug.

"I like that," I said with a small smile on my face. "You still haven't answered my question though," I reminded him. "How many kids do you really want?"

He took a few seconds to answer, "three, maybe more. I would like to have both a son and a daughter, but even if I were blessed with just sons or daughters I would still be the happiest man alive. A number doesn't really matter to me, a gender either, I just want a happy healthy future with you and my kids, however many we decide to try for."

"Well we can try soon," I said lightly taking a peek to the back seat of our car where our dog was sleeping.

"I can't wait," Sam breathed; lightly grasping my hand through his. Hearing his words made me smile. Secretly, I couldn't wait either- to finally be home, have a family, and run after my future full speed ahead.


	36. Chapter 36

"Hey Bella," Leah said walking into my house.

"Hey," I smiled, looking up from my soup that I was making. Sam was out with the guys running patrols and fooling around for the day. Reading the directions on my family recipe, I suddenly got a little bit dizzy and held the counter to steady myself.

"You okay?" the female wolf asked, getting up from her stool to possibly assist me.

"Yea," I breathed putting a hand to my head. It was weird, almost as if it was a dizzy spell.

"What are you making?" Leah wondered leaning over.

"Soup. I figured it was a good day to cuddle up with a blanket and some warm food with the cold weather coming," I said. Since we had gotten back from our honeymoon and let the months past, it had become a cold January.

"Yea, well I'm sure our two new happy couples are doing some cuddling with themselves too," Leah grumbled.

I choked out a laugh, thinking of both Jared and Kim, and Jake and Sarah. The two couples had both gotten married just a month after we had come back. It was a pretty wedding for the middle of November. Unlike Sam and I, they had both done a small wedding with just the Pack and the adults, which was a lot easier for all of their rushed wedding plans. Sue enjoyed having more weddings to plan and us girls actually enjoyed helping.

Everything was put together much quick than when Sam and I had ours, and they both had ideas in mind of what they wanted. I was pretty sure, going through the process three times with Leah, that she had wanted to be the next girl in the Pack to get married, but she would be running some competition with Embry and Andrea, who were considering marriage very thoroughly.

"Have you talked to Cole anymore about the whole marriage thing?" I wondered to her.

"Ha, yea right," she said watching me.

"Oh come on," I said turning my back towards her as I went to get some celery from the fridge.

"He's the guy, he's supposed to make the move," she justified.

"Alright," I said putting my hands up.

"How are Seth and Lin?" I wondered.

"Love birds- inseparable love birds," she corrected. "Its disgusting."

I let out a wholehearted laugh and then stopped, as I was dizzy again.

"Whoa," I said as my knees buckled and Leah quickly caught me.

"Here, sit down," she said guiding me to the stool she was sitting on. "You okay?" she wondered again.

"Yea, I must of not eaten enough today," I said a bit disheveled.

"What did you have?" she wondered.

"A muffin, like usual," I said with furrowed eyebrows. As I wondered what was going on, a thought crossed my mind. Was I…? No…

"Leah, do you think I'm…" I asked looking up to her. She gave me a confused look and then her eyebrows raised.

"How long has it been since you guys started that whole baby making thing?" she asked.

"A few months," I said. "But I mean, I should be getting morning sickness or something, not fainting."

"Well, we can go buy a test real quick and see," she said looking at me.

Biting my lip, I nodded. Getting up slowly, I shut off the stove and picked up my keys. Leah came over to me with a bottle of water and told me to start drinking. Taking a deep breath, I unscrewed the cap and locked up the house to follow her to my car.

We stopped by a drug store in Forks, not wanting to go to La Push in case I wasn't really pregnant and we got unwanted attention. Taking the box off the shelf, I quickly paid and we sped home wondering if it was really time. Feeling nervous, Leah unlocked the front doors for me and I locked myself into the bathroom.

I peed on the stick, and then set it on top of the box on my counter. I came out and began fidgeting as we waited for the time to be up.

"Well maybe all of your and Sam's hard work is about to pay off," Leah feebly joked.

"My life is about to either change or stay the same in a matter of minutes," I said nervously. "No actually its about to change either way. I'm pretty sure if Sam sees I took a test he will be life altered too," I said pacing the floor. "Plus, that means I have to go check out why I'm feeling faint."

"Alright take a breath," Leah said watching me.

"I could be a parent," I said now freaked out. "I mean like…I could have a child."

"Yes," she said slowly, "you and Sam will be happy as clams."

The kitchen timer rang and I swear my heart stopped. "Well, go look at it," Leah said as she sat on Sam and my bed.

"I can't," I said fearfully.

"Oh don't be a chicken. Go on," she said getting up and taking me by the shoulders back to the bathroom. Feeling frightful, I stared at myself in the mirror and then looked down.

"Oh god," I breathed and then passed out.

* * *

><p>When I woke up I was laying on the couch with a cold compress on my head.<p>

"What the-…"

Pulling the cloth off my forehead, I swung my feet to the ground and sat up.

"Thank god," Sam's voice breathed. Looking up, I found myself in our living room with him coming into the room.

"Umm…hi?" I said quite bewildered to what was going on. Our little puppy Bentley, who we finally named, came running up to me, licking my face like crazy.

"Are you okay? I got here and you were already out," he said coming to sit by me. I rubbed Bentley's head and tried to remember what happened.

"I was out?" I asked confused.

"Well well look who's up," Leah said leaning against the doorway. She held a small glimmer in her eyes and I was curious to why.

"Bella, what happened?" Sam asked worried.

"Huh?" I asked still flustered. I didn't remember much. There was this morning when the weather was crappy out. Then Sam left for Patrol all day. I made soup…Leah came over and I…oh crap. Snapping my head up to Leah, she gave me a nod.

"Hey, Bella! Are you okay?" Kim asked coming into the house.

"We heard you passed out," Sarah said behind her.

"Had to stop and check on you," Andrea said.

"Yea, I'm good, thanks guys," I smiled, setting Bentley down from my lap and getting up from the sofa. Loosing my balance slightly, I felt Sam catch my arm and steady me.

"We should get you to a doctor," he said concerned.

"I'm okay, really," I said with an apprehensive smile on my face. Giving him a quick kiss, I passed him and went to walk off to the kitchen.

"Well, since the boys night was cut short we figured to bring it here," Jake said in my kitchen.

"Oh hey," I said surprised finding most of the Pack in my kitchen.

"Soup smells good Bells," Paul said.

"Thanks," I smiled ruffling his hair. Standing in the middle of my kitchen, I was unsure what to do. Reality was still hitting me and making me go slightly pale.

"Leah, can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked, grabbing her arm as she stood at the entryway of the kitchen. Trudging us both out the front door and to the outside, I moved far enough away so the guys wouldn't be able to hear us.

"I'm pregnant?" I whispered loudly.

"That's what the test said," she smirked.

"You can't be serious," I said biting my lip.

"I thought that's why you guys stopped protection Bella, you and Sam wanted this," she said confused.

"Yea, but its like…really happening," I said starting to fidget and pace.

"That's what happens when you…never mind," she said, not wanting to complete that sentence as she cringed.

"Well are you going to tell him?" she wondered watching me, "I mean your scent is bound to change soon."

"Has it?" I asked coming to a dead stop. "Smell me."

She rolled her eyes and took a lock of my hair to smell. "No not yet. There is a hint of something I can't place but unless someone was to really look for it then no, you can't tell."

Letting out a breath I nodded.

"Why are you so freaked?" she asked again, "this is great."

"This is…scary shit," I said pacing around. "I'm going to be a parent soon. Sam and I are going to be parents."

"Which is awesome. Seriously Bella, you need to tell the guy."

"Maybe later," I said trying to gather my thoughts.

"Well then in the mean time, try not to pass out again or anything."

"Yea," I breathed. "Hey, speaking of which," I said stopping her before we went to walk back to the house, "what happened when I did that. I don't remember…"

"Well, you saw the test and passed out. Luckily I was behind you and caught you. I took you downstairs, laid you on the couch and went to get you a cold compress. Before I even went back upstairs Sam was rushing through the doors. He thought he felt you were scared and needed to check on you. Obviously he had a freak attack when he saw you. I went back to your guys' room, hid the test and got you a cold compress."

"Thank you," I breathed, hearing her hide the test.

"Figured you should tell him instead of him finding out," she said.

"Where did you hide it?" I wondered.

"Wrapped the pee stick in a load of toilet paper, threw away the box- hiding that at the bottom of the trash can- and stuffing the test under your sink."

"I owe you one," I breathed, letting us walk back.

"Yup, no problem," she said.

"Everything okay?" Sarah asked coming out with the rest of the girls.

"Yea why?" Leah wondered.

"The boys here were just about to send us out to look for you guys," Sarah said.

"Well, we volunteered," Kim amended.

"And fought against our boys," Andrea said.

"Funny sight to see," Lin commented.

"We're all good," I said walking up the steps.

"What happened?" Charlie asked walking up to our house.

"Hey dad, Sue," I smiled stopping to hug them.

"Bella passed out," Kim said. Charlie looked alarmed and Sue raised an eyebrow. Pretty much everyone in La Push knew Sam and I were trying to have a baby- or at least, everyone was expecting it.

"I'm fine, honestly," I said walking in my house with everyone.

"I still think we should take you to the doctors," Sam said coming over to me.

"I'm okay, promise," I said with a small kiss to his lips.

"I think you should still go Bells," Charlie said.

"I'm fine," I pushed, moving to finish up dinner I had started to cook.

"You're probably over worked," Leah said for me. She went over and sat on Cole's lap. "You've been busy with the studio, the Pack, settling back in with Sam, and trying to get back into the music industry. I think it's expected," she shrugged.

"Thank you," I said moving around the kitchen.

"I'll help," Sam pitched.

"Stop worrying," I said looking in his eyes.

"What happened today Bella?" he asked me with a hand to my face. Glancing to him and then the rest of the guys, I bit my lip. I felt like Sam should be told in private that he was going to be a daddy, but until the guys left, I couldn't do that.

"Nothing, we can talk about it later if you want. But honestly, I'm fine."

His eyes narrowed and he nodded, "fine, but we're going over your day and making you cut back on music from now on," he said going to help me.

"We'll see about that," I murmured. Laughing as he said he heard that, I smiled back and took peeks at all of the guys talking.

* * *

><p>"So," Sam said after everyone left and we were alone.<p>

"Dishes?" I asked looking at our now dirty kitchen.

"If we go over what happened today," he bargained. Rolling my eyes, I shook my head and took his hand.

"Tomorrow then, lets go to bed," I huffed. It was late anyways and I was tired.

"I thought I felt you were scared," he said as we walked up the steps.

"Not exactly," I said as we made it into the room.

"Did Leah try to scare you or something? Is she okay?" he wondered.

"She's fine," I said having him sit on the bed.

"Bella," he said catching my hips as I went to go walk away.

"Just hold on," I said moving away from him, "and stay there."

Doing as I said, he stayed there but continued to ask questions. As he did that and I tried to calm his fears, I went looking for the pregnancy test Leah hid for me. The girl hid it well I must say. It took me a minute or two to find it.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked a few feet behind me. Startled, I hit my head on the pipes.

"Oww," I complained, backing away from underneath the sink.

"Sorry Baby," he said with a hand on the back of my head to make sure I didn't hit it again as I got up.

"I thought you were going to sit on the bed and wait for me?" I asked.

"You stopped answering my questions, I wanted to make sure you were okay," he shrugged, Rolling my eyes, I knew he was somewhat lying.

"Your questions were all the same and you're a horrible liar Mr. Uley."

"Then tell me what's really going on Mrs. Uley," he said bringing my waist to meet his.

"This," I breathed, holding the wad of toilet paper in my hands. Setting it on the sink, I unraveled it and showed him the test. 'Pregnant' the digital reader said. Waiting a few seconds, I waited for his eyes to meet mine again.

"Your…" he breathed while touching the words 'pregnant' from the stick.

"Yes," I said. "I was getting light headed all of this morning and when Leah came over, she made me wonder if I was. So she drove me down to Forks, we bought a test and I took it. All of the waiting was the freight you felt, and then well, I passed out and you know the rest," I said.

"We have a baby," he said pulling away to run his large hands over my stomach.

"It's more like a tad pole right now, but yea, something like that," I smiled nervously.

"Bella," he breathed looking at me with teary eyes.

"Yea?" I asked with my teeth holding my bottom lip. A warm hand came up to the side of my face and pulled my lip away. Leaning in, he gave me a long warm kiss. I moaned as he slipped his tongue in my mouth. I missed these kisses.

Siding my arms around to the back of his neck, I loved how he pulled me closer.

"You're pregnant," he said in a short pant when we pulled away.

"That I am," I confirmed. "You okay with this daddy?" I asked hesitantly. As the words clicked in his head, he looked up from my flat stomach and grinned.

"I'm going to be a dad!"

* * *

><p>We told the boys a day later, Sam not able to keep it bottled inside of him. Everyone congratulated us and was happy. I couldn't believe all of the hype one baby could bring to everyone. Charlie and Sue were ecstatic to soon be grandparents, along with Sam's dad and Phil. The girls were all freaking out and Leah was proud to be the first one to know. Even Liam was happy for me and couldn't wait to meet the girl or boy growing in my tummy.<p>

When I broke the news to the Cullen's, Alice started running around their house at vampire speed, Jasper graciously smiled at me while trying to hold his own composure with all of the happiness and excitement his family was feeling, Esme got teary eyed, Carlisle congratulated me, Edward grinned, Emmett boomed with happiness, and Rose vowed she would spoil the child.

My months of pregnancy went by quick and I was glad it was easy enough. I wasn't morning sick very often but had the most weirdest food cravings. Sam thought many of them were disgusting but I blamed it on his growing son or daughter in my stomach. That single phrase always got him to crack a smile. It didn't matter if he was worrying about me or the Pack going crazy over my pregnant belly, whenever I mentioned him being a daddy or the kid growing in me, he was happy as a clam.

My water broke the day Sam, Bentley, and I were still putting together the nursery. We were pretty slow on the whole process since Alice and Rose continuously sent numerous gifts that were piled up to our ears. So as the day finally arrived, Sam rushed me to the hospital and we checked ourselves in.

Having a baby was probably one of the most painful and crazy things I had ever done. I swore to Sam and myself that there would be no such thing as having three kids in our future. There was just no way I could do this again. I was in labor for 9 and a half hours, sweating like a pig and cursing to myself. Sam was there for every step yet sometimes pulled out of the room as I cried in pain, which he had a hard time seeing. Our baby girl was born at 2:59 in the morning, with a dark patch of hair and faint light eyebrows. We named her Nora Grace Uley. She was the most beautiful tiny thing I had ever seen. Sam stood next to me, staring at the two of us. The look on his face was indescribable and I immediately handed him his baby girl to hold. Our child in his large arms made me laugh a bit. She looked even smaller if that was possible as he held her. Kissing her warm forehead he leaned down and kissed mine too.

"Go show her off to the guys," I smiled faintly. Laying my head back against the bed, I began feeling tired.

"I'll be right back," he whispered softly, kissing my lips.

* * *

><p>Our life with our little girl was so much different. I went home a week after being in the hospital. It was such a relief to be back and in my own bed. Bentley was jumping in happiness we walked in the door and had taken the new baby really well, being protective of it like both Sam and I already were. The Pack, along with our fathers' had finished the nursery for us and the Cullen's had already sent gifts to welcome here in the world. Nora Grace was right at home and already spoiled. She slept through most of the nights and was eating like a pro. Honestly, she was the easiest baby I had ever laid my hands on, and she was all Sam's and mine.<p>

The Pack made frequent visits over our house to see her, and luckily, no one had imprinted on her. The thought had me feeling mixed things. I felt like maybe this meant she was destined to have a somewhat normal life, while the other part of me thought that maybe it just meant more trouble in the future. I debated myself about when the time would come and when she would go up, if she would know the legends. I mean, we did live in La push and it was her heritage, but what if the whole wolf thing didn't happen? Did I really want her to know this world? And did I really want her to think about imprinting all of the questions surrounding it? But as I held my little girl in my arms, rocking her to sleep, all of that stuff didn't matter anymore. I didn't care about what to do in the future because the future was still a ways a way.

* * *

><p>Nora Grace was now 4 years old and talking like crazy. She walked all over our house, up and down, acting like her daddy, all jolly and cool. She had the mothering side to her too as Sam and I had our second kid, a boy we named Gavin Foster, only two years after Nora was born. And now, I was expecting our last and final kid (or so I hoped). We were expecting another boy, who we were going to name Owen Davis. I was only 5 months pregnant but couldn't wait to see what he looked like. Both Nora and Gavin had little patches of hair when they first came into the world, which were now grown into full heads. They were both tan skinned; Nora's having more of pale skin and being more of a brown haired girl like me. As for Gavin though, he had his father's skin and hair but carrying a mix between both of us. I was happy to see my facial features dominated my little boys face while Nora was like her daddy. It was not just his mannerisms that she had but also the way she expressed herself, cared about people, and had a certain look.<p>

Sam was whipped from the beginning after Nora came. All of our Pack could see it. Even when our daughter was just a little over a year, she had the 'pretty' eyes down and he was a goner, giving her whatever she wanted. When Gavin arrived, he was whipped even more. He was so happy to have a boy in our family too, etching to show him the ropes of sports and how to be big and strong like his dad. I had to calm my husband down a few times, reminding him Gavin was only a few years old and that he couldn't always do everything Sam had pictured for him right away. It was funny to see a enthusiastic Sam, for the Pack and me. And now as Owen was coming, I was wondering how Sam would react to this child, along with our kids.

"Hello," A voice called.

"Hey Kim," I said walking into the kitchen. Both of our kids and the dog were watching TV with Sam on the couch. Right now, they were in a big phase of Dora the Explorer and Blue's Clues.

Kim and Jared quickly got pregnant and had a kid after us, their child being a boy, named Carson Gabriel. He was an adorable little kid, looking like Kim but acting almost a 100% like Jared.

"Where is Sarah?" I wondered. We were all going to have a Pack picnic today at the beach, full of food, fun and surprisingly sun.

"Having a hormonal meltdown on the driveway," the girl said with an understanding face. Sarah was pregnant too, running a week past her due date. It was kind of funny, after having Nora Grace that all the girls started getting married and pregnant. It was like a baby and wedding mania between all of us in the Pack. But anyways, poor Jake was getting a lashing from her with whatever he did. Even the littlest things set her off, being super sensitive and all. My poor best friend was walking on eggshells till their child decided to make an entrance in the world- and Jake was praying for it to be soon.

Being late sounded horrible, as she cried to us that all she wanted to do was have this kid. Her feet were swollen, it was a warm summer and to get from here to there, she waddled. She couldn't control her emotions, especially around the guys. A few times she had told Brady, Embry and Quil off. I think once she almost snapped at Sam who immediately had backed off. But not only this, the poor girl had the weirdest food cravings.

"Hey hey," Leah said coming in with her husband Cole. After a year of convincing to Billy from both the werewolf and vampire side that the secret should be shared with her mate, the elder caved, taking it up with the rest of the council and letting her share the secret. He was pretty freaked at first but when Leah saw how bad he was reacting and cried, he immediately pulling himself together and said it was okay, nothing could make a difference. It was sweet to see and he was a really great guy. They had been married for a year now, and still enjoying it.

Leah always teased us pregnant woman that she would not be joining our little club for the longest time, which I responded back to her with that I would be out of the 'clu'b after this little guy came out. Sam never really liked to hear that- wanting another kid or two, which made Leah and I say it even more. I didn't know if I could handle more kids than what I have now. Our family was getting big and even Sam and I were thinking of getting a different house. Speaking of which, Sam was going to be stepping down soon. We deliberated it for a while, but he wanted to start living the old normal life and not going out to do things like Patrols.

"Afternoon guys," Quil said with a hand on Claire's back. Claire Bear was getting old too. I felt like time passed too quickly. It was obvious as she was in her beginning teen years now that she was getting a crush on Quil. That boy was soaking it up for all it was worth. He loved knowing that she did but she never admitted it. Those two played each other like a game.

"Where's Sam?" Embry asked coming into the house with Andrea and an empty cooler for drinks.

"Couch with the kids and dog," I grinned as he rolled his eyes. Embry and Andrea were great, doing things a little backwards. She was now a few weeks pregnant, and not married. Sam had the man-to-man talk with him, but I told my husband he needed to take it easy- there wasn't much he could do about it now. Andrea was enjoying the life of a pregnant woman, but feeling the downside of morning sickness.

"Hi Mom," Liam said walking into the kitchen and giving me a hug. Paul and Kris came in too in tow, holding each other's hands. Kris Fuertes, a girl Paul met at Liam's school actually, wasn't his imprint but he still liked her. She was a first grade teacher, the room across from Liam's. They met randomly during some school function Will had and sparks flew I guess. She was a great person, funny and sweet, with tan skin and black hair. She came from a different Res and settled here, now joined in with us nicely. Liam and her had a special bond too and I think he was almost ready to start calling her mom. We were all a little worried at first though when he didn't like her in his dad's life. I remember how he spent the weekend at our house because he was so upset with Paul. It was heart breaking to see but eventually the two Lahote boys sat down and talked it over.

It was kind of funny that it didn't bother my kids that Will still called me mom. They never really questioned it or seemed puzzled by the word. I pondered over it for a while but then didn't even bother with it. I was glad that we could still have that relationship in a comfortable manner. Liam was always over too. With his dad and Kris thinking of starting to settle down and have a life together, Will always liked to hang around here with our kids. He took good care of them, being good company and was definitely a caring and nurturing guy. I saw a lot of Paul in him and some traits of Kris too.

Moving to go in the living room, I watched as he sat next to Nora.

"I swear they have a thing going on," I muttered more to myself than the people in the room.

"I wouldn't say that in front of Sam," Kris joked.

"He knows it, he just doesn't want to admit he see's it too," I said looking back to my daughter who had her head leaning near Will.

"Sorry we're late," Brady said coming in with Joey, Collin and Reese. Reese was Collin's plus one. Like Leah and Paul, Collin hadn't imprinted but found he liked the girl. Reese was his age, and they started going out after the whole photography hook up thing. They had actually met again when Reese was looking at my music studio. It was a total coincidence, but in a way, I think Collin took it as a sign as it was meant to be. Reese had straight sandy blondish hair and a smile that light up a room. She was jolly and lighthearted, always happy when she was near Collin. She had the prettiest hazel eyes too and was included in everything. The love between the two was really cute. Not only were they a cute couple, always having a hand on each other and beaming like the sun, but also they were very in tune with each other. I was glad Collin took the steps to ask her out. He said something along the lines of having 'charm' and 'swag' while Reese would always just say it was more like he was so embarrassed she found it cute and had to say yes.

"Ready to go?" I called to my kids.

"Yea lets go!" Sam said shutting off our TV.

"Leaving without us?" Seth asked in his beachwear with Lin behind him.

"Oh hey guys," I smiled. Both Seth and Lin had grown so much. They were a cute couple too, always holding hands and being with each other. Seth, being the great guy he was, always was swept away by Lin. Anything she wanted or needed, he made it his personal quest to give it to her. Both him and I liked to believe she saved him from himself. He was on a dark path till they met. Imprinting messed with his mind and she was like the light at the end of the tunnel.

As my kids and Bentley came into the room, I realized how much our Pack had really grown. There were now so many people with their own lives to worry about, I forgot how much we really haven't had time to see each other. It was harder when we all had our lives and weren't so intertwined with each other like we once were. As we stood around talking for a few seconds more, I smiled thoughtfully at our family. No matter how far away we were, we were all still family.

"Okay, my kitchen is crampt, lets go," I called, ushering everyone out. Sam kissed on the cheek as he passed, staying behind with Embry to fill up the cooler with juice boxes, beers, sodas and waters for everyone to have. As I took the kids and the dog down to the beach for another memorable day, I turned back to face my house and thought how everything changed. It was no longer all on me- the pressures and life's turning events. Sam had changed my life, being a full human or not.

_**A/N: The end? Review and let me know if I missed any loose ends!**_


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